


NARRATIVE 



of A 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM 



DURING THE 



CAMPAIGN OF 1815; 



AND OF 



A VISIT 

i 



TO THE 



FIELD OF WATERLOO. 



By 

An ENGLISHWOMAN. 



LONDON: 

PRINTED FOE 

JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 

1817. 






1< 





"V. 

Cfcr 



PREFACE. 



The " Circumstantial Detail of the Battle 
of Waterloo, by a near Observer/' has 
already reached a tenth edition. That 
brief and imperfect account was hastily 
composed at a few days' notice, for the 
sole purpose of illustrating the panoramic 
sketch of the field which accompanies it. 
With a deep sense of gratitude for the 
favourable reception it experienced, but 
with scarcely a hope of again finding the 
same indulgence, the Narrative originally 
written by the same Author is now laid 
before the public. That accidental cir- 
cumstances of recent occurrence have 
occasioned its late and unintended appear- 

a2 



IV PREFACE. 

ance, it can avail little to state; since 
the merits of a work, not the causes of its 
publication, can alone be of importance 
to its readers. But after the numerous 
works which have already appeared upon 
this subject, it may seem superfluous, and 
even presumptuous, to obtrude another 
on the notice of the public. This little 
Narrative has, however, one claim on its 
attention which no other possesses, — in 
being the simple and faithful account of 
one who was herself a spectator of the 
scenes she describes, and a witness of the 
events she relates, during those days of 
desperate conflict and unparalleled victory, 
which must be for ever memorable in 
British history, and for ever interesting to 
every British heart. It was written whilst 
the impression of those eventful scenes 
was yet fresh upon the mind: and the 



PREFACE. V 

thoughts and feelings which such awful 
and affecting circumstances were irresis- 
tibly calculated to inspire, were expressed 
without restraint, in the full security of 
the sympathy and approbation of the 
partial friends for whose perusal, alone, 
it was intended ; and to whom every little 
circumstance was related with all the 
freedom and egotism of colloquial inter- 
course. In compliance with the judgment 
of these friends, it is now published without 
any attempt to improve its style, and with 
little alteration, except the omission of 
some passages of mere personal interest. 
The Author must be permitted most ear- 
nestly to disclaim all idea of entering into 
competition with the writers whose talents 
and genius have been so well displayed 
in describing the battle and the field of 
Waterloo. But they were not, like the 



VI PREFACE. 

Author of this Narrative, on the spot at 
the time these glorious events took place ; 
they were pilgrims who afterwards visited 
the memorable scenes on which they had 
been acted : they related the past, — she 
describes the present; but she is well 
aware the superiority her account possesses, 
is that of chance alone, — theirs, that of 
excellence. 

Conscious how inadequate are her 
talents to the greatness of a theme which 
almost surpasses the powers of human 
genius ; and on which all that can be 3aid, 
falls so far short of all that must be felt ; 
impossible as it is to do justice to the 
achievements of that gallant army " who 
have been the champions, the conquerors, 
and the deliverers of the world, and to 
whom, under Heaven, Europe owes her 
security, and England her glory/' — the 



PREFACE. Vll 

writer yet ventures to indulge the hope, 
that the generous indulgence of a British 
public will be extended to this humble 
attempt to record the proofs that were 
there displa} r ed of their heroic valour in 
combat, their noble magnanimity in vic- 
tory, and their unshaken fortitude in 
suffering, — faintly and feebly as they are 
described by 

An Englishwoman. 



A 



FEW DAYS RESIDENCE 



IN 



BELGIUM 



On Saturday, the 10th of June, 1815, my 
brother, my sister, and myself sailed from 
the pier of Ramsgate at three in the after- 
noon, in company with Sir , 

Major , extra Aide-de-camp to the 

Duke of Wellington, a Mr. , an 

English merchant ; together with an incon- 
gruous assemblage of horses, dogs, and 
barouches; Irish servants, French valets, 
and steerage passengers, too multifarious 

B 



55 A FEW DAYS 

to mention, all crowded together into a 



&' 



wretched little packet. On Sunday even- 
ing, the 11th of June, we found ourselves, 
after a passage of thirty-six hours, many 
miles distant from Ostend, lying at anchor 
in a dead calm, and without a hope of 
reaching it till the following morning. To 
escape remaining another night amidst the 
discomforts of this packet, without food, for 
we had eaten up all our provisions; and 
without sleep, for we had experimentally 
proved that none was to be got, our three 
selves, and our three companions in mis- 
fortune, the Knight, the Major, and the 
Merchant, embarked in a crazy little boat, 
about nine o'clock in a beautiful summer's 
evening, as the sun was sinking in golden 
splendour, and trusted ourselves to the 
mercy of the waves. The tide was running 
strong against the rowers, and night closed 
in long before we approached the shore; 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 3 

but though the light of the heavens had 
faded, the ocean was illuminated with 
that beautiful phosphoric fire, so well 
known in warmer latitudes. The most 
brilliant magic light played upon the sur- 
face of the waters, and marked the path 
of our little vessel through the deep, with 
the softest, purest radiance; the oars 
seemed to be moving through liquid fire, 
and every drop, as it dashed from them, 
sparkled like the blaze of a diamond : the 
little rippling waves, as they curled their 
heads, were covered with the same trans- 
parent ethereal fire, which would mock the 
powers of the poet's fancy, " glancing from 
heaven to earth, from earth to heaven/' to 
embody or describe. It is more like the 
pale beam the glow-worm sheds from his 
evening lamp than any thing on earth, but 
ten thousand times more bright and more 
beautiful. By such a light Oberon and 

b 2 



4 A FEW DAYS 

his Queen, attended by their band of tiny 
sprites, might have held their midnight 
revels, amidst the bowers and halls of 
fairy land; and by such a light, en- 
chanted spirits in happier worlds might 
be supposed to slumber. This soft, trans- 
parent, unearthly light gleaming around 
us, and kindling at every touch in living 
brightness over the waters ; the calm and 
glassy stillness of the wide extended ocean ; 
the softened glow that lingered in the west- 
ern sky ; and the mild breath of evening, 
made our passage to the shore, slow as it 
was, most delightful. It was a night cal- 
culated to soothe every unquiet passion 
into rest, and in which the imagination 
loved to indulge in dreams of delight and 
beauty. The heart must have been cold 
that did not feel the harmony of nature, 
and the spirit turbulent that did not par- 
take of its repose : every thing seemed to 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. O 

have been touched by the hand of en- 
chantment. But the magic spell was dis- 
solved, and the visions of fancy faded 
away in a moment ; for we suddenly struck 
upon the sands, when we seemed still far 
from the shore ; waves of fire dashed into 
the boat ; and the sturdy sailors, abandon- 
ing their oars, seized upon us without the 
smallest ceremony, and carried us literally 
through fire and water to the beach. 

Thus were we thrown, late at night, and 
in the dark, upon a foreign coast, uncer- 
tain which way to direct our steps through 
the deep, deserted, trackless sands that sur- 
rounded us ; forewarned of the rapid ap- 
proach of the tides upon this coast, and 
wholly at a loss in what direction lay the 
town, or how to get admittance through the 
sentry posts, at such an hour, if we did 
reach it. Yet under these appalling cir- 
cumstances, I cannot say that we felt the 
b3 



O A FEW DAYS 

smallest alarm, or even a momentary un-< 
comfortable situation : we had no fear of , 
being drowned, nor the remotest idea that 
any more serious mischief could befal us 
than spending the night upon the sands, 
of which, however, there seemed to be 
much probability. Luckily for us, this 

Mr. proved a most able pilot ; 

he had frequently been at Ostend before, 
and led the way with great sagacity, in 
spite of the darkness in which we were in- 
volved. We were all loaded with travel- 
ling bags, or bundles, or parcels of some 
sort, for it was with difficulty the little nut- 
shell of a boat contained our six selves, 
and all the servants were left in the vessel. 
We were each, therefore, obliged to carry 
all that we wanted of our travelling equip- 
ments; and thus burthened, and sinking 
every step ankle deep in the heavy sands, 
we reached at last, with considerable toil, 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 7 

the fortifications, and were immediately 
hailed by the soldier on guard. We de- 
clared ourselves to be " friends/' but in 
vain ; friends or foes were all the same to 
the sentry ; we might have lain all night in 
the ditch, for any thing he cared ; for his 
orders were positive, to admit no person 
into the garrison, without the express order 
of the commandant, after dark. But the 
cocked hat, aide-de-camp's uniform, and 

authoritative tone of Major — , carried 

us all through. He declared " that he and 
his party were going to join the army with 
speed;" and, although some of us must 
have struck the sentry as not being likely to 
prove a very valuable reinforcement to the 
troops, he did not venture to make any 
further opposition; and we all entered 
Ostend. Although we came " in such a 
questionable shape," we obtained admit- 
tance into " La Cour Imperiale," where 

B 4i 



8 A FEW DAYS 

we got an excellent supper, which was par- 
ticularly acceptable to some of us, who 
had eat nothing all day, excepting a bit of 
bread. We then went to bed, where we 
enjoyed the sweets of undisturbed repose, 
with a zest, which none but those who have 
spent a suffocating, sick, and sleepless 
night in a wretched little birth, on board a 
packet, can understand. 

Next day, after viewing the fortifications, 
which, although they had been recently 
repaired by the English, could no longer 
stand the long sieges which have made 
Ostend famous in history, we proceeded to 
Bruges, walked about in the rain till late 
at night, to visit the beautiful H6tel de 
Ville, and other public buildings of that 
fine old city ; and rose early the next 
morning, to see the churches of San Sau- 
veur and Notre Dame, and the magnifi- 
cent tombs of Charles the Bold and his 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 9 

daughter. Already the churches were 
crowded with pious Catholics, whose at- 
tention was sadly distracted from their de- 
votion by our appearance : sometimes they 
whispered an Ave Maria with the utmost 
fervency of prayer ; and sometimes an half- 
uttered exclamation of wonder burst from 
their lips; sometimes they resolutely re- 
sumed counting their beads, and sometimes 
their eyes involuntarily rested on our fo- 
reign figures with the broad stare of cu- 
riosity. 

We left Bruges in the same bark which 
had once conveyed Napoleon Buonaparte 
to that city, and which is now used as a 
coche d'eau. It contained 150 people, 
of every sort and description, from the 
courtiers of Louis XVIII. down to Flemish 
peasants; all of whom, however, were 
obliging, talkative, attentive, flattering, and 
amusing. After dining on board, and 



10 A FEW BAYS 

spending a most entertaining day, we ar- 
rived in the evening at Ghent. 

The whole of Wednesday we spent in 
this ancient city, and though its extent is 
so great as to have been the subject of a 
well known imperial quibble,* I believe we 
left but little of it unexplored. We visited 
its magnificent cathedral, whose walls, pil- 
lars, roofs, columns, and pulpits are formed 
of the richest polished marble of every va- 
rying hue, and carved with exquisite skill ; 
and whose sculptured ornaments, the work 
of ages when the statuary's art was in 
high perfection, seemed almost to start 
to life before our eyes. We explored the 
deep sepulchral gloom of its subterranean 
church ; visited the costly shrines of all the 

# The Emperor Charles V., in disparagement of the 
capital city of his rival, used to delight in saying, " Je 
peux mettre tout Paris dans man Gand" Ghent on the 
Continent is always spelt and pronounced Gand, the 
same as gant, glove. — A note in elucidation of a pun ! 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 11 

saints; contemplated the ancient and de- 
caying monasteries, which were formerly 
its pride; made a most indefatigable re- 
search after cabinets of paintings; and 
wandered with the utmost perseverance 
through its abominable streets. We saw 
the balcony from which the monster Van- 
damme, in the bloody times of the Revolu- 
tion, used to stand, day after day, to see 
victims led out at his bidding to the guil- 
lotine. In its altered scenes we now be- 
held loyal Bourbon beaux in gold epau- 
lettes, and smart Flemish belles in French 
fashions, laughing and flirting. We, like 
them, paraded in its gay promenade, and 
rambled through the perfumed walks and 
exotic bowers of its beautiful Botanic Gar- 
den. The city of Ghent seemed to be re- 
stored to some traces of its ancient grandeur 
by the temporary residence of the Bourbon 
princes and the little expatriated court of 



12 A FEW DAYS 

Louis XVIII. I had never been able to 
feel any extravagant degree of attachment 
to this unfortunate royal family : their re- 
storation had not given me any enthusiastic 
joy, nor their fall much sorrow ; and even 
the honour of paying my devoirs to Louis 
le Desire, and exchanging some profound 
and reverential bows and courtesies with 
His Most Catholic Majesty, failed to inspire 
me with much interest or admiration for 
this persecuted princely race. These bows, 
by the way, cost the good old king con- 
siderable time and labour, for he is ex- 
tremely unwieldy, and corpulent, and 
gouty; and he looks very lethargic and 
snuffy; and it is really a thousand pities, 
that an exiled and dethroned monarch 
should be so remarkably uninteresting a 
personage. 

Early in the morning of Thursday, the 
15th of June, we left the city of Ghent, 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 13 

passed its ancient walls, and crossed the 
" lazy Scheldt/' which is here but a small 
stream, and belies the epithet Goldsmith 
applies to its more advanced course, for it 
runs with considerable rapidity. We pro- 
ceeded along the straight, undeviating line 
of the broad, flat chaussee, or paved road, 
that leads to Brussels. It is bordered on 
each side with rows of tall trees, which form 
one long interminable avenue, as far as the 
eye can reach. We remembered, that it 
was down this very road that Napoleon 
Buonaparte had made his triumphant pro- 
gress through the Netherlands, and we most 
devoutly hoped, that neither by this, nor 
any other road, he would ever have it in 
his power to enter them again. 

The country is thickly covered with neat 
cottages, scattered hamlets, and small farm- 
houses : the fields were waving with tall 
luxuriant crops of corn, and far from 



14 A FEW DAYS 

wearing the appearance of the theatre of 
war, it seemed to be the abode of peace 
and plenty; and hope, contentment, and 
hilarity shone in the countenances of the 
people. The peasants almost all wore 
sabots; but the cottage children, bare- 
footed and bare-headed, frequently pur- 
sued the carriage for miles, keeping pace 
with the horses, tumbling as they went 
along, singing Flemish patriotic songs, the 
burden of which was invariably, " Success 
to the English, and destruction to the 
French ;" and crying with unwearied per- 
severance, " VivcS * les Anglaises !" " Dat 
for Napoleon!" expressing at the same 
time, by an emphatic gesture, cutting off 
his head. They threw bouquets of flowers 
into the carriage, twisted their little sun- 
burnt faces into the most extraordinary 

* I write it not grammatically, but as they pronounced 
it, with a strong emphasis on the last letter. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 15 

grimaces, and kept whirling round on their 
hands and feet, in imitation of the rotatory 
motion of a wheel. Dr. Clarke, in his 
Travels, mentions that the children of the 
Arabs in Egypt performed the same ex- 
ploit, and for the same purpose, that of 
extorting from the passengers a few sous, 
nay, even one they seemed to think a suf- 
ficient reward for a laborious chase of more 
than a league, and the exhibition of all 
these fatiguing antics. 

At the little town of Alost, half way to 
Brussels, we stopped to dine. It was the 
head-quarters of the Due cle Berri, and 
the streets, the promenades, and the cafes 
looked gay. There is a pleasant walk, 
shaded by trees, round the ramparts ; for 
this little town, like every other in the Ne- 
therlands, was formerly fortified ; although 
its dismantled walls no longer afford any 
means of defence. A violent shower of 



IS A FEW DAYS 

rain obliged us to take refuge, in rather an 
unceremonious manner, in a small house, 
the mistress of which, who was preparing 
to take her afternoon's coffee, (though it 
was only one o'clock,) received us with the 
utmost courtesy and kindness. Short as 
our stay was beneath her roof, it was long 
enough for her to express with great energy 
her detestation of Napoleon and of the 
French ; which she said was universal 
throughout Belgium. We had a good deal 
of conversation with her upon this subject, 
and upon the past and the present state of 
Belgium. — " Ah, madame ! before they 
came among us," she said, " this was a 
very different country. Then we were 
rich, and good, and happy." She la- 
mented over the trade, the manufactories, 
the commerce they had destroyed ; the 
contributions they had exacted; the fine 
young men they had seized as conscripts ; 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 17 

the convents they had ruined ; the priests 
and " les bonnes religieuses" they had 
turned to the door. Wherever we had 
gone before, and wherever we afterwards 
went, we heard the same sentiments from 
every tongue, and we saw the most une- 
quivocal signs of the inveterate hatred of 
the whole Belgic people towards their 
former rulers. It bursts out spontaneously 
as if they could not suppress it ; their whole 
countenances change; their eyes sparkle 
with indignation; their very gestures are 
eloquent, and they seem at a loss for words 
strong enough to express the bitterness of 
their detestation. This surprised us not a 
little, as in England we had been taught 
to believe, that the French were popular in 
this country ; but we were at length con- 
vinced of our mistake. It is the English, 
not the French, who are popular, in Bel- 
gium ; and it was far more gratifying than 

c 



18 A FEW DAYS 

any individual distinction could have been, 
to find that we were every where received 
with marked attention and respect fot the 
sake of our country, and that the name of 
England is every where beloved and ho- 
noured. 

At the village of Ashe, half way between 
Alost and Brussels, while I was buying in 
a little shop, a basket of " gateaux sucres," 
for which the place is famous, two Belgic 
ladies, who happened to be there, entered 
into conversation with me, with all the 
ease of foreign manners, and uttered the 
same energetic invective against their late 
French government, and animated praise 
of the English, which we heard from every 
tongue during our stay in Belgium. These 
people evidently speak from their hearts : 
and yet in manners, in customs, in ancient 
ties, in modern predilections, and even in 
language, they are French. Their deep- 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 19 

rooted hatred, therefore, of the people to 
whom they were so firmly attached, must 
have sprung from very flagrant wrongs, 
and very galling oppression. 

Alost is situated on the little river Den- 
der, and from the road we caught a 
glimpse of the spire of Dendermond so 
famous for its siege by the Allies. We 
were now in a country which had repeat- 
edly been, in every age, the seat of war, 
and in which England had already gained 
immortal glory. In retracing the proud 
history of her past triumphs, and her recent, 
and not less brilliant, conquests, we felt 
the firm assurance, that in those scenes 
where the British under the Duke of Marl- 
borough had, in the 18th century, won the 
glorious victories of Oudenarde, Ramillies, 
and Malplaquet, the British under the 
Duke of Wellington, in the 19th century, 
would gain fresh laurels and immortal re- 

c 2 



20 A FEW DAYS 

nown, and raise still higher the glory of 
their country's arms. 

After leaving Alost, the country became 
more rich and undulating. Instead of a 
dull, dead flat, which we had before tra- 
versed, sloping grounds, and distant hills, 
and sheltered vallies diversified the pro- 
spect. The woods rose in prouder beauty, 
and the fields were dressed in brighter ver- 
dure and richer luxuriance ; and as we 
passed through those smiling scenes, and 
saw the husbandman pursuing his peaceful 
labours, the cottage wife busy with her 
household cares, and the merry groups of 
haymakers spread ovjer the fragrant mea- 
dows, we rejoiced in the hope, that the 
hand of the spoiler would never lay waste 
these fruitful fields, nor burn these peaceful 
hamlets, and that these contented peasants 
would never again be torn from their 
homes to fight in the cause of unprincipled 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 21 

ambition, and become in turn the instru- 
ments of that oppression of which they had 
been the victims. It was with a feeling 
of pride for our country we indulged the 
thought that it was to England they owed 
their security ; that it was her protecting 
arm which interposed the impenetrable 
shield of her armies between them and the 
tyranny and usurpation of France. We 
could not but rejoice, that since the awful 
struggle must be made, its horrors — if in- 
evitable—would, at least, be distant ; — that 
since the awful thunderbolt of war must 
fall, it would descend, in all human pro- 
bability, upon that country which had 
raised the storm ; and that France herself 
would at length be visited by some part 
of the dreadful calamities which she had 
so long and so mercilessly inflicted upon 
other nations. 

Short sighted mortals ! while we fondly 
c 3 



22 A FEW DAYS 

indulged these hopes, and exulted in the 
blessings of security and peace, how little 
did we suspect that the most aggravated 
horrors of war were ready to burst over our 
heads ; how little did we foresee the rapid 
changes and alarming events which even 
this very day was destined to produce ; and 
while we watched the sun sinking in glory 
in the western sky, how little did we dream 
of the scenes that were to pass before the 
dawn of morning ! In all the bliss of ig- 
norance, however, we journeyed along, ad- 
miring from afar the lofty towers and spires 
of Brussels, and its crowded roofs clustering 
round the steep sides of a hill, in the midst 
of a rich and cheerful country, and think- 
ing with joyful and impatient anticipation 
of the well-known faces of the beloved 
friends whom we were to meet within its 
walls. 

Near Brussels we passed a body of 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 23 

Brunswick troops, (called Black Brims- 
wickers.) They were dressed in black, 
and mounted upon black horses, and their 
helmets were surmounted with tall nodding 
plumes of black horse hair, which gave 
them a most sombre and funereal appear- 
ance. As they slowly moved along the 
road before us in a long regular procession, 
they looked exactly like an immense mov- 
ing hearse. I laughed, and observed to 

S , " that one might take this for a 

bad omen, and that it reminded me of 
the mourning wedding-ring in the Simple 
Story/' Some of these black, ominous look- 
ing men kept before us, and entered Brussels 
along with us. At first we passed through 
some mean, dirty streets, but the appear- 
ance of the town soon improved. The 
houses are large, ancient, and highly orna- 
mented. There is an air of grandeur and 
of architectural design in the towns of 

c 4 



24 A FEW DAYS 

Flanders, which is peculiarly striking, on 
first coming from the plain, diminutive, 
shop-keeper looking, red brick rows of 
houses in England. The streets of Brussels 
are narrow, but they have that air of bustle, 
opulence, and animation, which charac- 
terises a metropolis. To us every thing 
was new and amusing : the people, the 
dresses, the houses, the shops, the very 
signs diverted us. Every notice was stuck 
up in the French language, and quite in the 
French style : the poorest and most paltry 
shop called itself a Magazine. Here were 
Magasins de Modes, Magasins de Souliers, 

Magasins de every thing, in short : it 

was amusing to see the names of people 
and trades, that we had only been accus- 
tomed to meet with in French books and 
plays, stuck up in gilt letters above every 
shop-door. 

Every thing wore a military aspect; 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 25 

and the number of troops, of different 
nations, descriptions, and dresses, which 
filled the town, made it look very gay. 
Soldiers faces, or at least their white belts 
and red coats, were to be seen at every 
window ; and in our slow progress through 
the streets, we were delighted to see the 
British soldiers, and particularly the High- 
landers, laughing and joking, with much 
apparent glee, with the inhabitants. On 
our right we caught a glimpse of the mag- 
nificent spire of the Hotel de Ville, far ex- 
ceeding, in architectural beauty, any thing 
I remember to have seen. We slowly con- 
tinued to ascend the windings of the long 
and steep hill, which leads from the low to 
the high town of Brussels, and the upper 
part of which is called La Montague du 
Pare. Passing on our left the venerable 
towers of the Cathedral, we reached, at 
last, the summit of this huge mountain ; and 



26* A FEW DAYS 

the Pare of Brussels, of which we had 
heard, read, and talked so much, unexpect- 
edly opened upon us. What a transition 
from the dark, narrow, gloomy streets of 
the low town to the lightness, gaiety, and 
beauty of the Pare, crowded with officers 
in every variety of military uniform, with 
elegant women, and with lively parties and 
gay groups of British and Belgic people, 
loitering, walking, talking, and sitting under 
the trees ! There could not be a more 
animated, a more holiday scene; every 
thing looked gay and festive, and every 
thing spoke of hope, confidence, and busy 
expectation. 

The Pare of Brussels does not bear the 
smallest resemblance to what in England 
we denominate a Park. It is a large square 
piece of ground inclosed with iron rails, 
the interior of which is laid out with gravel 
walks, grass plots, and parterres, shaded 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 27 

with trees, and ornamented with fountains* 
and statues. It is quite a promenade, and 
is exclusively devoted to pedestrians. The 
walks are formal, but kept with great ex- 
actness, and the tout ensemble looks gay, 
inviting, and pleasant. It is surrounded 
by a wide street, inclosed by a square of 
magnificent houses built of the finest free- 
stone -j-: in which are the palace of the 
Prince of Orange, and many beautiful 
public buildings. Compared to this grand 
square, the finest squares of London, 
Edinburgh, and Dublin, are small and 
paltry. Adjoining the Pare is the Place 
Royale, and so strikingly grand and im- 

# Afterwards, on our return to Brussels, I observed an 
inscription on one of these fountains, purporting, that the 
Czar Peter the Great, having drunk too freely of wine, 
fell into its waters. The day and year are mentioned. 
It was, I think, about a century ago. 

+ Such it appeared to me to be. I was afterwards 
told, that both the Pare and the Place Royale are built 
of brick the colour of free-stone. 



28 A FEW DAYS 

posing is its architecture, that we all ut- 
tered an involuntary exclamation of sur- 
prise and admiration as we drove into it. 
The doors and windows of the H6tel 
Bellevue, and of the Hotel de Flandre, ad- 
joining to it, were crowded with British 
officers. We took possession of two plea- 
sant rooms in the latter, which had been 
secured for us by the kind attention of 

Sir . They were in the 

troisieme etage, and we had a hundred 
steps to ascend ; but we were fortunate in 
procuring such good accommodation, as 
Brussels was extremely crowded. We had 
not entered the hotel many minutes, and 
had not once sat down, when we recog- 
nised our pleasant compagnon de voyage, 

Major , standing in the Place 

Royale below, encompassed with officers. 
He saw us, took off his hat, and, breaking 
from the people that surrounded him* 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 29 

darted in at the door of the hotel, and was 
with us in a minute. Breathless with 
haste, he could scarcely articulate that hos- 
tilities had commenced ! Our amazement 
may be conceived : at first we could 
scarcely believe him to be in earnest. 
" Upon my honour," exclaimed Major 

, still panting, and scarcely able to 

speak, from the haste with which he had 
flown up the hundred steps, " it is quite 
true ; and the troops are ordered to be in 
readiness to march at a moment's notice ; 
and we shall probably leave Brussels to- 
morrow morning/' In answer to our eager 
inquiries, he then told us, that this unex- 
pected intelligence had only just arrived ; 
that he had that moment left the Duke of 
Wellington's table, where he had been 
dining with a party of officers ; and, that, 
just as the dessert had been set upon the 
table, a courier had arrived, bringing dis- 



SO A FEW DAYS 

patches from Marshal Blucher, announc- 
ing, that he had been attacked by the 
French : but although the fighting was hot, 
it seemed to be Blucher's opinion, that it 
would most probably prove nothing more 
than a mere skirmish. AVhile the Duke 
was reading the dispatches, the Prince of 
Orange, General Mufflin, and some other 
foreign officers had come in. After a short 
debate, the Duke, expecting that the blow 
would be followed up, and believing that 
it was the enemy's plan to crush the Eng- 
lish army and take Brussels, immediately 
ordered the troops to be in readiness to 
take the field at a moment's notice. " And 
when did all this happen ? When was this 
attack made?" we anxiously inquired. 
" It took place this afternoon/' " This 
afternoon \" I exclaimed, in astonishment, 
and, I suppose, with looks of consterna- 
tion, which drew a good natured smile 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 31 

from Major , for we had not been 

used to hear of battles so near, or fought the 
same afternoon. "Yes, it happened this 

very afternoon/' said Major ; " and 

when the express came away, they were 
fighting as hard as ever : but after all, it 
may prove a mere trifling affair of out- 
posts — nothing at all."" " But are the 
French in great force ? Where are they ? 
Where are the Prussians ? How far off do 
you suppose all this fighting is V were 
some of the many questions we asked. 
The fighting was in the neighbourhood of 
Charleroi, about half a day's march from 
Brussels : nothing certainly was known of 
the force of the French. In fact, nothing at 
all was known, except that the French had 
this very day attacked the Prussians, when 
they were totally unprepared, at a short 
distance from us. " However, after all, this 
may end in nothing," said Major , 



52 A FEW DAYS 

after a pause; "we may have to march to- 
morrow morning, or we may not march these 
three weeks : but the Duke expects another 
dispatch from Blucher, and that will settle 

the business :" and so saying, Major 

went away to dress for a ball. Yes, a ball ! 
for the Duke of Wellington, and his aides- 
de-camp, and half of the British officers, 
though they expected to go to a battle 
to-morrow, were going to a ball to-night, 
at the Duchess of Richmond's ; and to the 
ball they did accordingly go. They 
seemed to say, or to feel, with the Scottish 
Chief in Douglas, 

" This night once more 
Within these walls we rest : our tents we pitch 
To-morrow in the field. Prepare the feast ! — 
Free is his heart who for his country fights : 
He on the eve of battle may resign 
Himself to social pleasure : sweetest then, 
When danger to a Soldier's soul endears 
The human joy that never may return." 

Late as it was, J and S went to 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 33 

call upon the , whom they were im- 
patient to see. They had not been gone 

many minutes when Sir 

sent up to ask if I would admit him. I 
made no objection : so in he came, looking 
magnificently, in a full dress uniform, 
covered with crosses, clasps, orders, and 
medals. Behold me, then, tete-a-tete with 
this splendid beau, in my own room, be- 
tween ten and eleven o'clock at night ! In 
England it would have been extraordinary 
enough, to be sure ; but in Brussels it was 
nothing. It was impossible to receive him, 
or any body else, in any other place than 
a bed-room, for the Hotel de Flandre was 
entirely composed of bed-rooms, all of 
which were occupied. Without discom- 
posing myself about the matter, therefore, 

I gave Sir some tea, and we had a 

long chat together. He, too, had been 
dining with the Duke of Wellington, and 



34 A FEW DAYS 

had been present when these important 
dispatches arrived, and from him I heard 

a repetition of all that Major had 

told us, with the alarming addition, that 
the French were said to be upwards of 
100,000 strong, and that Napoleon himself 
was at the head of the army. It was gene- 
rally thought, that this attack upon the 
Prussians Avas a stratagem to conceal more 
effectually his real designs, of surprizing 
Brussels, and destroying, if possible, at one 
blow, the English army. It was well 
known that the Russians had crossed the 

Rhine ; and Sir said he had 

no doubt that Buonaparte would push for* 
ward at all hazards, and give battle before 

they could arrive. As Sir 

had certainly reason to know something of 
Buonaparte, and as these rapid, unexpected 
movements were in perfect uniformity with 
his general policy, this conjecture seemed 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 35 

but too probable ; but we concluded, that 
the numbers of the French must be pro- 
digiously exaggerated. It seemed quite in- 
credible that so large an army could have 
formed, advanced, and even attacked 
Marshal Blucher, without his having any 
knowledge of their movements ; and even 
if their force was very superior to ours, I 
felt confident that they would meet with a 
very different reception from that which 
they expected; and that Napoleon, with 
every advantage on his side, would not 
find the defeat of an English army quite so 
easy a thing in practice, as he had always 
seemed to consider it in theory. Having 
settled this point much to our mutual satis- 
faction, Sir went away : J 

and S returned, and we went to bed. 

But we were not destined long to enjoy 
the sweets of repose. Scarcely had I laid 
my weary head upon the pillow, when the 



T> 



9 



36 A FEW DAYS 

bugle's loud and commanding call sounded 
from the Place Royale. " Is that the call 
to arms V I exclaimed, starting up in the 

bed. S laughed at the idea; but I 

heard it again, and we listened with eager 
and anxious suspense. For a few moments 
a pause of doubt ensued. Hark ! again ! 
it sounded through the silence of the night, 
and from every quarter of the town it was 
now repeated, at short and regular inter- 
vals. " It is the call to arms I" I exclaim- 
ed. Instantly the drums beat; the High- 
land pibroch sounded It was the call 

to arms ! Oh ! never, never shall I forget 
the feelings of that moment ! Immediately 
the utmost tumult and confusion succeeded 
to the silence in which the city had pre- 
viously been buried. At half past two we 
were roused by a loud knocking at our 

room door, and J ■& voice calling to us 

to get up instantly, not to lose a moment — 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 37 

that the troops were under arms — were 
marching out against the French — and that 

Major was waiting to see us before 

he left Brussels. Inexpressibly relieved to 
find, that this nocturnal alarm was occa- 
sioned by the departure of Major 

not by the arrival of the French, which, in 
the first startling confusion of my thoughts, 
and trepidation of my mind, had actually 
entered my head ; and much better pleased 
to meet an old and kind friend, than to run 
away from a furious enemy, we got up with 
the greatest alacrity, and hastily throwing 

some clothes about us, flew to see , 

who was waiting on the stairs. Short and 
agitated indeed was our meeting under such 
circumstances. By the light of a candle 

in J 's room, we sat down for a few 

minutes on some boxes, scarcely able to 

believe our senses, that all this was real, 

d 3 



38 A FEW DAYS 

and almost inclined to doubt whether it 
was not a dream : but the dreadful din of 
war which resounded in our ears, too pain- 
fully convinced us that it was no illusion 
of phantasy : — we could scarcely even 
" snatch a fearful joy/' for not for a single 
moment could we banish from our minds 
the impression, that in a few moments we 
must part, perhaps for ever, and that this 
hurried interview might prove our last. 
We could only gaze intently upon each 
other, as if to retain a lasting remembrance 
of the well known countenance, should we 
indeed be destined to meet no more : we 
could only utter incoherent words or dis- 
jointed speeches. While he still lingered, 
we heard his charger, which his servant 
held in the court-yard below, neighing and 
pawing the ground, as if impatient of his 
master's delay, and eager to bear him to 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 39 

the field. Our greetings and adieus were 
equally hurried. We bade him farewell, 
and saw him go to battle. 

It was nearly two years since we had 
met ; and little did we think, when we 
parted in the peaceful vallies of Rox- 
burghshire, that our next, and perhaps our 
last, meeting would be in Brussels, in the 
dead of the night, and on the very eve of 
battle. He left us then, as now, to fight 
the battles of his country ; and we trusted, 
that victory and glory would still follow the 
British arms, and that he would once more 
return in honour and safety. 

Just as he left us the dawn appeared, 
and, by the faint twilight of morning, we 
saw the Place Royale filled with armed 
men, and with all the tumult and confusion 
of martial preparation. All was " hurry 
skurry for the field/' Officers were look- 
ing in vain for their servants — servants 

d 4 



40 A FEW DAYS 

running in pursuit of their masters — bag- 
gage waggons were loading — Mt horses 
preparing — trains of artillery harnessing. — 
And, amidst the clanking of horses' hoofs, 
the rolling of heavy carriages, the clang of 
arms, the sounding of bugles, and the 
neighing of chargers, we distinctly heard, 
from time to time, the loud deep-toned 
word of command, while the incessant din 
of hammers nailing " gave dreadful note 
of preparation/' 

A second express had arrived from 
Blucher, bringing intelligence that the 
French were in much more formidable 
force than he had imagined ; that the at- 
tack was become serious ; they had taken 
Charleroi, and driven back the Prussians. 
It w r as therefore necessary for the British 
to march immediately to support them. 
The Duke had received the dispatches 
containing this important news in the ball- 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 41 

room. We were afterwards told, that upon 
perusing them he seemed for a few mi- 
nutes to be absolutely absorbed in a pro- 
found reverie, and completely abstracted 
from every surrounding object; and that 
he was even heard to utter indistinctly a 
few words to himself. After a pause he 
folded up the dispatches, called one of his 
staff officers to him, gave the necessary 
orders with the utmost coolness and 
promptitude; and, having directed the 
army to be put in motion immediately, he 
himself staid at the ball till past two in the 
morning. The cavalry officers, whose re- 
giments, for the most part, were quartered 
in villages about the frontier, ten, fifteen, 
and even twenty miles off, flew from the 
ball-room in dismay, in search of their 
, horses, and galloped off in the dark, with- 
out baggage or attendants, in the utmost 
perplexity which way to go, or where to 



42 A FEW DAYS 

join their regiments, which might have 
marched before they could arrive. Num- 
bers of the officers had been out, when the 
first order, to be in readiness to march, was 
issued, and remained in perfect ignorance 
of the commencement of hostilities, until 
the alarm sounded, and called them from 
scenes of festivity and mirth to scenes of 
war and bloodshed. As the dawn broke, 
the soldiers were seen assembling from all 
parts of the town, in marching order, with 
their knapsacks on their backs, loaded with 
three days provision. Unconcerned in the 
midst of the din of war, many a soldier 
laid himself down on a truss of straw, and 
soundly slept, with his hands still grasp- 
ing his firelock; others were sitting con- 
tentedly on the pavement, waiting the ar- 
rival of their comrades. Numbers were 
taking leave of their wives and children, 
perhaps for the last time, and many a ve- 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 43 

teran's rough cheek was wet with the tears 
of sorrow. One poor fellow, immediately 
under our windows, turned back again and 
again to bid his wife farewell, and take his 
baby once more in his arms ; and I saw 
him .hastily brush away a tear with the 
sleeve of his coat, as he gave her back the 
child for the last time, wrung her hand, 
and ran oft' to join his company, which was 
drawn up on the other side of the Place 
Royale. 

Who that saw a scene so mournful 
Could without a tear depart ? 
He must own a savage nature, 
Pity never warmed his heart ! 

Many of the soldiers' wives marched out 
with their husbands to the field, and I saw 
one young English lady mounted on horse- 
back, slowly riding out of town along with 
an officer, who, no doubt, was her hus- 
band. But even at this interesting mo- 
ment, when thousands were parting with 



44 A FEW BAYS 

those nearest and dearest to their hearts, 
my gravity was suddenly overset, and my 
sorrow turned into mirth, by the unex- 
pected appearance of a long train of mar- 
ket carts, loaded with cabbages, green 
peas, cauliflowers, early potatoes, old wo- 
men, and strawberries, peaceably jogging 
along, one after another, to market. These 
good people, who had never heard of 
battles, and who were perfectly at a loss to 
comprehend what could be the meaning of 
all this uproar, stared with astonishment at 
the spectacle before them, and actually 
gaped with wonder, as they slowly made 
their way in their long carts through the 
crowds of soldiers which filled the Place 
Royale. There w r as something inexpres- 
sibly ludicrous in the contrast which the 
grotesque figures and rustic dresses of these 
old women presented to this martial hurry 
and confusion, that realty " not to laugh 



RESIDENCE IX BELGIUM. 45 

surpassed all powers of face/' and that I 
did laugh I must acknowledge, though it 
was perhaps very ill-timed levity. Soon 
afterwards the 42d and 92d Highland regi- 
ments marched through the Place Royale 
and the Pare, with their bagpipes playing 
before them, while the bright beams of the 
rising sun shone full on their polished mus- 
kets, and on the dark waving plumes of 
their tartan bonnets. We admired their 
fine adiletic forms, their firm erect military 
demeanour and undaunted mien. We felt 
proud that they were our countrymen : in 
their gallant bearing we recognised the true 
hardy sons of Caledon, men who would 
conquer or die ; and we could not restrain 
a tear at the reflexion, how few of that 
warlike band who now marched out so 
proudly to battle might ever live to return. 
Alas ! we little thought that even before the 
fall of night these brave men, whom we 



46 A FEW DAYS 

now gazed at with so much interest and 
admiration, would be laid low ! 

During the whole night, or rather morn- 
ing, we stood at the open window, unable 
to leave these sights and sounds of war, or 
to desist for a moment from contemplating 
a scene so new, so affecting, and so deeply 
interesting to us. Regiment after regiment 
formed and . marched out of Brussels ; we 
heard the last word of command — March ! 
the heavy measured uniform tread of the 
soldiers' feet upon the pavement, and the 
last expiring note of the bugles, as they 
sounded from afar. 

We saw our gallant army leave Brussels 
with emotions which may be better ima- 
gined than described. They went again to 
meet that enemy whom they had so often 
encountered, and so invariably vanquished ; 
to follow that general, who, in a long 
course of years of command devoted to 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 47 

the service and glory of his country, had 
never experienced a single defeat ; who had 
so lately led them from victory to victor}^ 
crossed, in his triumphant march, the 
plains of Spain, fought his way over the 
frozen heights of the Pyrenees, carried 
conquest and dismay in the very heart of 
France, and whose rapid and unparalleled 
career of conquest had only been checked 
by the angel of peace. As we saw the last 
of our brave troops march out of Brussels, 
the recollection of their past glory, the 
proud hopes of their present triumph, the 
greatness of the contest, upon the issue of 
which the fate of Europe and the security 
of the world depended ; the dread of their 
encounter with the numerous and formi- 
dable hosts of that man, whom no treaties 
could bind, no adversity could amende no 
considerations of justice or humanity could 
soften, no laws, divine or human, could re- 



48 A FEW DAYS 

strain, swelled our hearts with feelings 
which language is too feeble to express : 
and our brave countrymen were followed 
by our tears, our warmest wishes, and our 
most fervent prayers for their safety and 
success. 

Before seven in the morning, the streets, 
which had been so lately thronged with 
armed men and with busy crowds, were 
empty and silent. The great square of the 
Place Royale no longer resounded with the 
tumult and preparations for war. The 
army were gone, and Brussels seemed a 
perfect desert. The mourners they had 
left behind were shut up in their solitary 
chambers, and the faces of the few who 
w^ere slowly wandering about the streets 
were marked with the deepest anxiety and 
melancholy. The heavy military waggons, 
ranged in order, and ready to move as 
occasion might require, were standing 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 49 

under the silent guard of a few sentinels. 
The Flemish drivers were sleeping in the 
long tilted carts destined to convey the 
wounded ; and the horses, ready to harness 
at a moment's notice, were quietly feeding 
on fresh-cut grass by their side : the 
whole live-long day and night did these 
Flemish men and horses pass in the Place 
Royale. A few officers were still to be 
seen, slowly riding out of town to join the 
army. The Duke of Wellington set off 
about eight o'clock, in great spirits, de- 
claring he expected to be back by dinner- 
time; and dinner was accordingly prepared 
for him. Sir Thomas Picton, who, like 
ourselves, had only arrived in Brussels the 
day before, rode through the streets in true 
soldier-like style, with his reconnoitring 
glass slung across his shoulders, and, rein- 
ing in his charger as he passed, to ex- 

E 



50 



A FEW DAYS 



change salutations with his friends, left 
Brussels — never to return. 

We had a most agreeable surprise at our 
breakfast table in the sight of Major 

. He had rid a few miles out of 

Brussels with the regiment, and then gal- 
loped back with Sir , who also 

wished to return. We spent a few hours 
together ; and, embittered as they were 
Avith the prospect of so near and dreadful 
a separation, there was much consolation 
in thus meeting. No expectation was 
entertained of any engagement taking 

place to-day. Sir and 

Major , therefore, felt quite at 

their ease; " being certain/' they said, 
" of overtaking the regiment at a place 
called Waterloo, where the men were to 
stop to cook." Little did any of us then 
suspect how remarkable to future ages 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 51 

" that place called Waterloo" was destined 
to become ! We denied ourselves to se- 
veral idlers, but Sir — and Mr. 

and Mrs* succeeded in gaining 

admittance. 

At last the dreadful moment arrived: 

Sir called for Major ■; 

and, after sitting a few moments, they got 
up to go away ; and we bade farewell to 
one who from childhood had been our 
friend and companion, and whom we loved 
as another brother. We could not but feel 
how probable it was that we might never 
see him more : and, under this impression, 
some minutes after he had left us, which 

he had spent in bidding farewell to J 

below, we ran to the window, saw Sir 

and he mount their horses, and 

ride away, and caught the last glimpse of 
them as they passed under the gateway of 

e2 



52 A FEW DAYS 

the Place Royale. Two hours afterwards 
they w r ere in the thickest of the battle ! 

Although we had not the smallest sus- 
picion that any engagement could take 
place to-day, our anxiety for news, both of 
the French and Prussians, was extreme; 
but we could hear nothing but vague, un- 
authenticated reports, upon which no re- 
liance could be placed. 

We dined, or rather sat down to dinner, 
at the table d'hote, and afterwards wan- 
dered restlessly about the streets, our minds 
too mu»h absorbed in interest respecting 
the approaching contest, to see, hear, un- 
derstand, think, or talk about any thing 
but what related to public events. 

Our consternation may be imagined 
when we were told that a dreadful can- 
nonade had been heard from the Pare, in 
the very direction which our army had 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 55 

taken ; and that it was supposed they must 
have been attacked by the French within a 
few miles of Brussels. At first I was utterly 
incredulous ; I could not, would not believe 
it : but hurrying to the Pare, we were too 
soon, too incontestably convinced of the 
dreadful truth, by ourselves hearing the 
awful and almost incessant thunder of the 
guns apparently very near to us. For 
many hours this tremendous cannonade 
continued ; while, unable to gain any intel- 
ligence of what was passing, ignorant of 
every thing, except of the fact, proclaimed 
by the loud and repeated voice of war, that 
there was a battle, we listened in a state of 
terrible uncertainty and suspense ; and 
thought with horror, in the roar of every 
cannon, that our brave countrymen were 
every moment falling in agony and death. 
Unable to rest, we wandered about, and 
lingered till a late hour in the Pare. The 

e3 



54 A FEW DAYS 

Pare ! what a different scene did its green 
alleys present this evening from that which 
they exhibited at the same hour last night ! 
Then it was crowded with the young and 
the gay, and the gallant of the British 
army, with the very men who were now 
engaged in deadly strife, and perhaps 
bleeding on the ground. Then it was 
filled with female faces sparkling with 
mirth and gaiety ; now terror, and anxiety, 
and grief were marked upon every coun- 
tenance we met. 

In addition to the general alarm and 
anxiety, which surpassed any thing it is in 
my power to describe, we had a particular 
subject of solicitude. We had but too 
much reason to fear, that it would be im- 
possible for Sir and Major 

to join their regiment in time for 

the action. The idea, the very doubt was 
dreadful. If we listened to the cannonade 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 55 

with such heart-sinking apprehensions for 
them, what must have been their feelings, 
if, at a distance from the army, absent 
without leave, they heard its sounds ! After 
years of service in various climates and 
countries, after six long and glorious cam- 
paigns in the Peninsula, would they forfeit, 
by one act of imprudence, all the distinc- 
tion they had obtained by a life devoted to 
their country, and be found absent from 
their post in the hour of danger ! Dear to 
us as was the life of our friend, his honour 
was still dearer ; and while every one else 
was anxiously dreading lest the battle 
should be near, and trembling at the re- 
ports that prevailed of its vicinity, I was 
secretly praying that it might not be dis- 
tant, and would have felt inexpressibly re- 
lieved to have been assured that it was 
within a few miles of Brussels. 

But it was in vain we attempted to dis- 
e 4 



56 



A FEW DAYS 



cover where it really was. Some people 
said it was only six, some that it was ten, 
and some that it was twenty miles off. 
Numbers of people in carriages and on 
horseback had gone out several miles on the 
road which the army had taken, and all of 
them had come back in perfect ignorance 
of the real circumstances of the case, and 
with some ridiculous report, which, for a 
time, was circulated as the truth. No au- 
thentic intelligence could be gained ; and 
every minute we were assailed with the 
most absurd and contradictory stories. 
One moment we heard that the allied 
army had obtained a complete victory ; 
that the French had been completely re- 
pulsed, and had left twenty thousand dead 
upon the field of battle. Gladly would I 
have believed the first part of this story, 
but the twenty thousand dead I could 
not swallow. Then again we were told, 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 57 

that the French, 180,000 strong, had at- 
tacked the British ; that the Belgians had 
abandoned their arms and fled ; that our 
troops were literally cut to pieces ; and that 
the French were advancing to Brussels. 
Then an English gentleman stopped his 
carriage to tell us, that he had been out 
farther than any body, and that he had 
actually seen the engagement, which was 
between the French and the Prussians ; 
and that old Blucher had given the rascals 
a complete beating. We had not gone 
ten paces farther, before another man, in 
a great hurry, advised us to set off in- 
stantly, if we wished to make our escape ; 
that he was on the point of going, for 
that certain intelligence had been received, 
" that the French had won the battle, and 
that our army was retreating in the utmost 
confusion/' I never remember to have felt 
so angry in my life: and I indignantly 



58 



A FEW DAYS 



exclaimed, that such a report deserved only 
to be treated with contempt; and that it 
must be false, for that the English would 
never retreat in confusion. The man seemed 

a little ashamed of himself; and Mr. 

advised him, " by all means, to take care of 
himself, and set off directly i" we hastened 
on. Presently we met another of Mr. — — 's 
wise friends, who assured us, with a face 
of the greatest solemnity, " that the day 
was going against us ; that the battle was 
as good as lost ; that our troops had been 
driven back from one position after another; 
and that the artillery and baggage had 
commenced the retreat : that all the horses 
would be seized for the service of the 
army ; and that in two hours it would be 
impossible to get away/' All this time we 
could hear nothing of what was really pass- 
ing ; for these idle tales and unfounded 
xumours were unworthy of a moment's at- 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 59 

tention, and did not give us a moment's 
alarm : but the poor Belgians, not know- 
ing what to make of all this, and nearly 
frightened out of their senses, firmly ex- 
pected the French in Brussels before the 
morning ; for their terror of them was so 
great and so deeply rooted, that they be- 
lieved nothing on earth could stop their 
advance. 

This dreadful uncertainty and ignorance 
of the truth made us truly wretched. No- 
body knew any thing of the actual state of 
affairs. Nobody could tell where our 
army was engaged, nor under what cir- 
cumstances, nor against what force, nor 
whether separately or conjointly with the 
Prussians, nor which side was gaining the 
advantage. We knew nothing, except that 
there was a battle, and that at no great 
distance from us ; for that the unceasing 
cannonade too certainly proved. Anxi- 



60 A FEW DAYS 

ously and vainly we looked for news from 
the army — none arrived. The consterna- 
tion of the people was not to be described. 
" The cannonade is approaching nearer I" 
they exclaimed. " Hark ! how loud was 
that peal ! There, again ! Our army 
must be retreating. Good heavens ! what 
will become of us !" On every side, in the 
tones of terror and despondency, we heard 
these exclamations repeated. Heard 
through the density and stillness of the 
evening air, the cannonade did, in fact, seem 
to approach nearer, and become more 
tremendous. During the whole evening 
we wandered about the Pare, or stood in 
silence on the ramparts, listening to the 
dreadful thunder of the battle. At length 
it became less frequent. How often did 
we hope it had ceased, and vainly flatter 
ourselves that each peal was ■ the last ! 
when, again, after an awful pause, a louder, 



RESIDENCE FN BELGIUM. 6l 

a longer roar burst on our ears, and it 
raged more tremendously than ever. To 
our great relief, about half past nine, it 
became fainter and fainter, and at last en- 
tirely died away. 

After we had returned to the hotel, Sir 

, who, in our absence, had 

been twice at our rooms and in the Pare 
in search of us, good naturedly came again, 

to tell us that he had met Sir j 

who had left the field about half past five, 
and that so far " all was well." The 
French army had encountered our troops 
on their march, upon the high road, about 
fifteen miles from Brussels. The 92d and 
42d Highland regiments were the first in 
order of march. These brave men imme- 
diately made a stand, formed into squares, 
received the furious onset of the French 
with undaunted intrepidity, and alone sus- 
tained the fight, until the Royal Scots, the 
28th, and some other regiments, came up 



62 A TEW DAYS 

to support them. Every regiment, as it 
arrived, instantly formed and fought ; and 
though the English had been taken by 
surprize, unprepared, unconcentrated ; 
without cavalry, and with scarcely any 
artillery ; and, though the enemy outnum- 
bered them far beyond all computation, 
they had not yielded an inch of ground, 
and they were still fighting in the fullest 
confidence of success. " There can be no 
doubt of their repulsing the French/' said 
Colonel , " but nothing of any im- 
portance can be done till the cavalry come 
up, which it is expected they will do this 
evening. To-morrow the engagement will 
most probably be renewed, and I hope it 
will prove decisive/' The Duke, he said, 
who was in excellent spirits, was to sleep 
to-night at Genappe. 

Certainly no other troops but the Eng- 
lish, without any cavalry, and with very 
little artillery, would have thought them- 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 63 

selves sure of repulsing an enemy with 
both, and with an almost countless supe- 
riority of numbers : and most certainly 
none but the English could have achieved 
it. It is a perversion of words to call the 
troops engaged in the battle of Quatre 
Bras the English army. During the 
greater part of the day a few regiments 
only, a mere handful of men, were op- 
posed to the immense masses the French 
continually poured down against them: 
but they formed impenetrable squares, 
which were in vain attacked by the French 
cavalry, " steel clad cuirassiers/' and in- 
fantry; and against which tremendous 
showers of shot and shell descended in 
vain. 

The 92d, 42d, 79th, the 28th, the 95th, 
and the Royal Scots, were the first and 
most hotly engaged. For several hours 
these brave troops alone maintained the 



64 



A PEW DAYS 



tremendous onset and the shock of the 
whole French army, and to their determined 
valour, Belgium owes her independence, 
and England her glory. I do not, how- 
ever, mean to give them exclusive praise. 
I do not doubt, that had the post of honour 
fallen upon other British regiments they 
would have acquitted themselves equally 
well : — but let honour be paid where it is so 
justly due. Let England be sensible of 
the vast debt of gratitude she owes them ; 
and let the names of those who perished 
there be enrolled in the long list of her 
noblest heroes ! The 92d, 42d, and 79th 
Highland regiments, had suffered most 
severely. They had received the furious 
and combined attack of the French cavalry 
and infantry, from first to last, with un- 
daunted firmness, till, after supporting this 
unequal contest the whole day, after making 
immense havoc among their columns, and 



RESIDENCE 11$ BELGIUM. 65 

repeatedly charging and driving them back 
in confusion, they had themselves fallen 
overpowered by numbers, and among 
heaps of the slaughtered enemy, on the 
very spot where they first stood to arms ; 
and we were told that they were almost 
to a man cut to pieces. With grief and 
horror, not to be described, we thought 
of these gallant soldiers, whom in the 
morning we had seen march out so proudly 
to battle, and who were now lying insen- 
sible in death on the plains of Quatre 
Bras. They had fought, and they had 
fallen, as became the same noble spirits 
who had wrested, from the same vaunting 
foe, the standard of the Invincibles on the 
sands of Egypt. They were gallantly sup- 
ported by the 28th, who, on the same soil, 
as well as in the long campaigns of Spain, 
had gained immortal honour, and who 
particularly distinguished themselves in this 



66 



A FEW DAYS 



day's battle, by their complete repulse of 
the French cuirassiers, who, though clad in 
mail, and " armed at all points precisely 
cap-a-pie," were driven back with immense 
loss from every attack, and uniformly gave 
way before the dreaded British charge with 
the bayonet. One regiment of raw Belgic 
troops had turned and fled where they had 
the finest opportunity of charging. I con- 
fess I was not sorry to hear that these re- 
creant Belgians had almost to a man been 
cut to pieces by the very French troops 
they had not courage to face. The fate of 
cowards is unpitied. The consequences of 
their misconduct had, however, been re- 
trieved by part of Sir Thomas Picton's 
division,* which regained the post they had 
lost, though with considerable slaughter. 

* Consisting of the 28th, 32d, 79th, 95th, a battalion 
of the 1st, or Royal Scots, the 42d, 92d, and the 2d bat- 
talion of the 44th, and a battalion of Hanoverians. It 
was the first division which arrived, and, during the prinr 



RESIDENCE in BELGIUM. 67 

After hearing this account our spirits 
completely revived, I scarcely know why ; 
for, except in the new proof we had just 
had of invincible British valour and firm- 
ness, there was nothing to inspire satisfac- 
tion or confidence. We had just learned, 
beyond all doubt, the truth of the alarming 
report that the Prussians were separately 
engaged with another division of the ene- 
my, which completely outnumbered them. 
Thus the allied armies seemed to be effec- 
tually cut off and prevented from assisting 
each other, or acting in concert. The 
French then, whose combined numbers re- 
port magnified to 180,000, were on two sides 
of us, at the distance of on! y three hours 
march from Brussels. Their army was col- 
lected, combined, concentrated, and well- 
appointed. The Prussians and the English 

cipal part of the day, it was the only part of the British 
army engaged. 

F 2 



68 A FEW DAYS 

were surprized, separated, dispersed, and 
unprepared : the latter were destitute of 
cavalry, ill-supported by artillery, and with 
an appalling inferiority even of infantry; 
and these too partly composed of Belgians, 
who seemed to make a practice of running 
away. Yet in spite of all these disadvan- 
tages, they had bravely stood the first brunt 
of the battle, and we felt the firm assurance 
that they would eventually triumph. 

Colonel had left the army at half 

past five, the battle, or at least the cannon- 
ading, had lasted till about ten, and our 
anxiety to know its results, our impatience 
for further news from the army, may be 
imagined : but no later intelligence ar- 
rived ; we could hear nothing but vague 
reports of defeat, disaster, and dismay, to 
which, as they were founded upon no au- 

thority, we paid no attention. Sir 

— w^as going to join the army, like 



* RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 69 

many others who had no business there : — 
he was to set oft at one in the morning, so 
that we should see him no more, and, what 
was infinitely worse, receive no more, 
through him, immediate and authentic in- 
telligence of all that was known. In this 
respect he was a great loss to us, for he 
was indefatigable in bringing us news, and 
took unwearied pains to be of use to us in 
every possible way. 

Late as it was we went to see Mrs. , 

whom we knew to be in great alarm. We 
found her sitting surrounded by plate, which 
she was vainly trying to acquire sufficient 
composure to pack up, with a face pale 
with consternation, and quite overcome 
with agitation and distress. We did all we 
could to assist, and said all we could 

to console and reassure her. Mr. 

had gone out towards the army, and, 
late as it was, had not yet returned. 

f3 



70 A FEW DAYS 

We staid with her some time, and had the 
satisfaction of leaving her in much better 
spirits than we found her. 

J had engaged, and made an agree- 
ment to pay for, horses, upon the condition 
of their being in readiness to convey us to 
Antwerp, at a moment's warning, by day 
or night, if required. We had not, how- 
ever, the smallest intention of leaving Brus- 
sels for some days to come, unless some 
sudden and unexpected change in public 
events should render it absolutely neces- 
sary. Thinking it, however, prudent to be 
prepared, we had sent our valet de place to 
la blanchisseuse, to desire her to send home 
every thing belonging to us, early in the 
morning. La blanchisseuse sent back a 
message, literally to this effect, — " Ma- 
dame," said the valet, addressing himself to 
me in French, " the blanchisseuse says, 
that if the English should beat the French, 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 71 

she will iron and plait your clothes, and 
finish them for you ; but if, au contraire, 
these vile French should get the better, then 
she will assuredly send you them all back 
quite wet — tout mouille — early to-morrow 
morning/' At this speech, which the valet 
delivered with immoveable gravity, We all, 
with one accord, burst out a laughing, irre- 
sistibly amused to find, that amongst the 
important consequences of Buonaparte's 
gaining the victory, would be our clothes 
remaining unplaited and unironed; and 
that the British were, in a manner, fighting, 
in order that the getting up of our fine 
linen might be properly performed. The 
valet, as soon as he could obtain an hear- 
ing, went on to say, that he sincerely 
hoped we should get our clothes dried and 
finished, and that the English would beat 
ces diables de Francais; but this seemed 
quite a secondary consideration with the 

f 4 



72 A FEW DAYS 

valet, compared with ironing our clothes, 
and we were again seized with an uncon- 
troulable fit of laughter. Even the valet's 
long face of dismay relaxed into some- 
thing like a smile, and, as he left the room, 
he said to himself, " Mais ces demoiselles 
sont bien enjouees." 

It was half past twelve; and hopeless 
now of hearing any further news from the 
army, we were preparing to retire to rest — 
but rest was a blessing we were not destined 
to enjoy in Brussels. We were suddenly 
startled by the sound of the rapid rolling of 
heavy military carriages, passing at full 
speed through the Place Royale : — a great 
tumult instantly took place among the 
people below ; the baggage waggons, which 
we knew were not to set off, except in a 
case of emergency, were harnessed in an 
instant, and the noise and tumult became 
every instant more alarming. For some 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 73 

minutes we listened in silence : faster and 
faster, and louder and louder, the long 
train of artillery continued to roll through 
the town : — the cries of the affrighted 
people increased. I hastily flew out to 
inquire the cause of this violent commo- 
tion. The first person I encountered was 
a poor, scared fille de chambre, nearly 
frightened out of her wits. " Ah, ma- 
dame \"j she exclaimed, " les Francois sont 
tout pres; dans une petite demi-heure ils 
seront ici — Ah, grand Dieu ! Ah, Jesus ! 
Jesus ! que ferons-nous ! que ferons-nous \" 
In vain I eagerly asked how she knew, or 
why she believed, or from whence this 
news came, that the French were near ? 
She could only reiterate, again and again, 
" Les Francois sont tout pres — les Fran- 
cois sont tout pres :" my questions were 
unanswered and unheard ; but suddenly 
recollecting herself, she earnestly besought 



74 A FEW DAYS 

us to set off instantly, exclaiming, " Mais, 
mesdames, vous etes Anglaises — il faut 
partir tout de suite, tout de suite" she re- 
peated with great emphasis and gesticula- 
tion, and then resumed her exclamations 
and lamentations. 

As I flew down stairs the house seemed 
deserted. The doors of the rooms (which 
in foreign hotels are not. only shut, but 
locked) were all wide open; the candles 
were burning upon the tables, and the so- 
litude and silence which reigned in the 
house formed a fearful contrast to the in- 
creasing tumult without. At the bottom 
of the staircase a group of affrighted Bel- 
gians were assembled, all crowding and 
talking together with Belgic volubility. 
They cried out that news had arrived of 
the battle having terminated in the defeat 
of the British ; that all the artillery and 
baggage of the army were retreating ; and 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 75 

that a party of Belgians had just entered 
the town, bringing intelligence that a large 
body of French had been seen, advancing 
through the woods to take Brussels, and 
that they were only two leagues off. In 
answer to my doubts and my questions, 
they all exclaimed, " Ah ! c'est trop vrai ; 
c'est trop vrai. Ne restez pas ici, made- 
moiselle, ne restez pas ici ; partez, eloignez 
vous vite : c'est aifreux \" 

" Mais demain matin " I began — 

" Ah ! demain matin/' eagerly inter- 
rupted a little good-humoured Belgic wo- 
man, belonging to the hotel — " demain 
matin il n'y aura pas plus le terns — une 
autre heure peut-etre, et il ne sera pas plus 
possible de partir." " Ecoutez, mademoi- 
selle, ecoutez \" they cried, turning paler 
and paler as the thundering noise of the 
artillery increased. At this moment seve- 
ral people, among whom were some English 



76 



A PEW DAYS 



gentlemen and servants, rushed past us to 
the stables, calling for their carriages to be 
got ready instantly. " Appretez les che- 
vaux tout de suite — Vite! vite ! il ny a 
pas un moment !" was loudly repeated in 
all the hurry of fear. These people con- 
firmed the alarm. I sent for our cdcher, 
and most reluctantly we began to think 
that we must set off; when we found to our 
inexpressible joy that the long trains of 
artillery, which still continued to roll past 
with the noise of thunder, were not flying 
from the army, but advancing to join it. 
It is impossible to conceive the blessed 
relief this intelligence gave us. From that 
moment we felt assured that the army was 
safe, and our fears for ourselves were at an 
end. My brother, who had been roused 
from his sleep, and who, like many other 
people, had been running about half- 
dressed, and was still standing in his night- 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 77 

cap, in much perplexity what to do, now 
went to bed again with great joy, declaring 
he was resolved to disturb himself no more 
about these foolish alarms. 

We were now perfectly incredulous as 
to the whole story of the French having 
been seen advancing through the woods to 
take Brussels ; but the Belgians still re- 
mained convinced of it ; and though they 
differed about how it would be done, they 
all agreed that Brussels would be taken. 
Some of them thought that the British, and 
some that the Prussians, had been de- 
feated, and some that both of them had 
been defeated, and that the French, having 
broken through their lines, were advancing 
to take Brussels ; others believed that 
Buonaparte, while he kept the allies em- 
ployed, had sent round a detachment, 
under cover of night, by a circuitous route 
to surprize the town : but it seemed to be 



78 A FEW DAYS 

the general opinion, that before morning 
the French would be here. The town was 
wholly undefended, either by troops or for- 
tifications : it was well known to be Na- 
poleon's great object to get possession of it, 
and that he would leave no means untried 
to effect' it. The battle had been fought 
against the most fearful disparity of num- 
bers, and under the most disadvantageous 
circumstances to the British. Its event 
still remained unknown ; above all, no in- 
telligence from our army had arrived: 
under such circumstances it was not sur- 
prizing that the general despondency 
should be so great; while continual ru- 
mours of defeat, disaster, and dismay, 
and incessant alarms, only served to con- 
firm their worst fears. As the French, 
however, had not yet come, this panic in 
some degree subsided, and comparative 
quietness seemed to be restored. Great 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 79 

alarm, however, continued to prevail 
through the whole night, and the baggage 
waggons stood ready harnessed to set off* 
at a moment's notice. Several persons 
took their departure, but we quietly went 

to bed. S , however, only lay down 

in her clothes, observing, half in jest and 
half in earnest, that we might, perhaps, be 
awakened by the entrance of the French ; 
and overcome with fatigue, we both fell 
fast asleep. Her prediction seemed to be 
actually verified, for at six o'clock we were 
roused by a violent knocking at the room- 
door, accompanied by the cries of " Les 
Francois sont ici ! les Francois sont ici I'* 
Starting out of bed, the first sight we be- 
held from the windoAV was a troop of 
Belgic cavalry, galloping from the army, 
at the most furious rate, through the Place 
Royale, as if the French were at their 
heels ; and instantly the whole train of 



80 A FEW DAYS 

baggage waggons and empty carts, which 
had stood before our eyes so long, set off, 
full speed, by the Montagne de la Cour, 
and through every street by which it was 
possible to effect their escape. In an in- 
stant the whole great square of the Place 
Royale, which had been crowded with 
men, horses, carts, and carriages, was com- 
pletely cleared, as if by magic, and entirely 
deserted. The terrified people fled in every 

direction, as if for their lives. While S , 

wlio had never undressed, flew to rouse 

J , and I threw on my clothes I scarcely 

knew how ; I heard again the dreadful 
cries of " Les Franf ois sont ici ! lis s'em- 
parent de la porte de la ville I" My toilet, 
I am quite certain, did not occupy one 
minute ; and as I flew down stairs, in the 
hope that it might yet be possible to effect 
our escape, I met numbers of bewildered- 
looking people, running about half-dressed, 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 81 

in every direction, in all the distraction of 
fear. The men with their night-caps on, 
and half their clothes under their arms; 
the women with their dishevelled hair 
hanging about their shoulders, and all of 
them pale as death, and trembling in every 
limb. Some were flying down stairs 
loaded with all sorts of packages ; others 
running up to the garrets sinking under 
the accumulated weight of the most 
heterogeneous articles. The poor fille 
de chambre, nearly frightened out of 
her senses, was standing half-way down 
the stairs, wringing her hands, and un- 
able to articulate any thing but " Les 
Francois ! les Francois I" A little lower, 
another ' woman was crying bitterly, and 
exclaimed, as I passed her, " Nous 
sommes tous perdus !" But no language 
can do justice to the scene of confusion 
which the court below exhibited : masters 

G 



82 A FEW BAYS 

and servants, ladies and stable-boys, valets 
and soldiers, lords and beggars; Dutch- 
men, Belgians, and Britons; bewildered 
garf ons and scared filles de chambre ; 
enraged gentlemen and clamorous . coach- 
men; all crowded together, jostling, cry- 
ing, scolding, squabbling, lamenting, ex- 
claiming, imploring, swearing, and vocife- 
rating, in French, English, and Flemish, 
all at the same time. Nor was it only a 
war of words ; the disputants had speedily 
recourse to blows, and those who could 
not get horses by fair means endeavoured 
to obtain them by foul. The unresisting 
animals were dragged away half-harnessed. 
The carriages were seized by force and 
jammed against each other. Amidst the 
crash of wheels, the volley of oaths, and 
the confusion of tongues, the mistress of 
the hotel, with a countenance dressed in 
woe, was carrying off her most valuable 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 83 

plate in order to secure it, ejaculating, as 
she went, the name of Jesus incessantly 
and, I believe, unconsciously ; while the 
master, with a red night-cap on his head, 
and the eternal pipe sticking mecha- 
nically out of one corner of his mouth, 
was standing with his hands in his pockets, 
a silent statue of despair. 

Amidst this uproar I soon found out our 
cocher, but, to my utter consternation, he 
vehemently swore, " that he would neither 
go himself, nor let his horses go ; no, not 
to save the King of Holland himself; for 
that the French were just at hand, and that 
they would take his horses, and murder 
him:" and neither entreaties, nor bribes, 
nor arguments, nor persuasions, had the 
smallest effect upon him ; he remained 
inexorable, and so did numbers of the 

fraternity. While J , who had now 

come down stairs, was vainly and angrily 
g 2 



84 A FEW DAYS 

expostulating with him, I inquired on all 
sides, and of all. people, if there was no 
possibility of procuring other horses. The 
good-natured garfon of the house ex- 
claimed, " that if there were horses to be 
had in Brussels, I should have them f and 
away he ran in quest of them, while I con- 
tinued my fruitless inquiries. In a little 
while he returned disappointed and un- 
successful, exclaiming, with a face of 
horror that I shall never forget, " II n'y a 
pas un seul cheval, et les Franpois sont 
tout pres de la ville." At this moment in 

rushed Mr. , in an agony of terror, 

panting, breathless, and exhausted, crying 
to us, " that his carriage was ready, that 
they could carry one of us, and that we 
must come away instantly/' It was to no 

purpose both he and I implored S to 

go with him. S was inflexible. No- 
thing could induce her to go without us, 



RESIDENCE IX BELGIUM. 85 



and, finding she was immovable, Mr. 



ran off with the good natured inten- 
tion of taking Lady , since we 

refused to go singly. With incredible ex- 
pedition, one English carriage after another 
drove off at full speed, and we were left 
to our fate. Of the rapid approach of the 
enemy we could not entertain the smallest 
doubt. To say I was frightened is nothing : 
I honestly confess I never knew what terror 
was before. Never shall I forget the horror 
of those moments. Our own immediate 
danger, and all the dreadful list of uncer- 
tain, undefined evils to which we might be 
exposed, in the power of those merciless 
savages ; the anxiety, the distress, and de- 
spair of our friends at home, joined to the 
dreadful idea, that the English army had 
been overwhelmed by numbers, defeated, 
perhaps cut to pieces, agonized my mind 
with feelings which it is impossible to de- 
g 3 



86 A FEW DAYS 

scribe. Escape seemed, however, impos- 
sible : like Richard, I would have gladly 
given my kingdom (if I had had one) 
for a horse, or at least for a pair ; but no 
horses were to be had, neither for love, 
money, nor kingdoms. 

In the midst of this state of terror and 

suspense, I suddenly beheld Major . 

If an angel had descended from heaven I 
could not have welcomed him with more 
transport. Hope revived : and, springing 
forward to meet him, I exclaimed, " Oh ! 
Major is it true!" His counte- 
nance inspired little comfort; he looked 
pale, and struck with horror and conster- 
nation. " God forbid!" he exclaimed: " I 
hope not. I do not believe it ; but I am 
going to inquire, and I will come back to 
you immediately." He wrung my hand, 
and hurried away. In the mean time I 
flew up stairs to collect all our things and 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 87 

bundle them together, to be ready for 
instant departure, if we should be able 
to procure horses. Never was packing 
more expeditiously performed : I am cer- 
tain it did not occupy any thing like three 
minutes. With the help of the valet de 
place, I crammed them all together, wet 
and dry, into the travelling-bags and port- 
manteaus, without the smallest ceremony. 
Every minute seemed to be an age, till 

at last Major returned with the 

blessed assurance, that it was a false alarm ; 
" that for the present, at least, we were in 
no danger/' It is quite impossible to give 
the smallest idea of the transport we felt, 
when we found that the enemy were not 
at hand, that our army was not defeated, 
and that we ourselves were not in the 
power of the French. I never can forget 
the extasy of that moment; the bliss of 
that deliverance; and the inexpressible 
g4 



88 A FEW DAYS 

comfort of those feelings of safety which we 
now enjoyed. No fabled spirit, emerging 
from the dark and dismal regions of Pluto 
to the brightness and beauty of the Elysian 
Fields, could feel more transporting joy, 
than we did when " the spectre forms of 
terror" fled, and we felt secure from every 
danger. From two English gentlemen, 

and lastly from Lord , we received 

a confirmation of these happy tidings. 
The alarm had been raised by those das- 
tardly Belgians whom we had seen scam- 
pering through the town, and who had 
most probably been terrified by the same 
foraging party of the enemy which had 
afterwards, we were told, come up even to 
the gates of the city, insolently summoning 
it to surrender. They were supposed to 
have come from the side of the Prussians ; 
and, knowing the defenceless state of 
Brussels, amused themselves with this 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 89 

bravado. Their appearance had con- 
firmed the alarm beyond all doubt, and 
given rise to the dreadful cry, that the 
French were seizing on the gates of the 
town. The panic had indeed been dread- 
ful, but it was now happily over. 

Major again attempted to go 

to the Place Royale, but he was instantly 
surrounded by a clamorous multitude, who, 
knowing him by his dress to be an aide-de- 
camp of the Duke, angrily exclaimed, 
" What is the reason that nothing is done 
for our security ? Are we to be left here 
abandoned to the enemy ? Are we to be 
given up to the French in this way ? Why 
is not the City Guard ordered out to defend 
the town V (The City Guard to defend the 
town from the French !) We could not 
help laughing at the idea of the excellent 
defence the City Guard of Brussels would 
make against the French army. But the 



90 A FEW DAYS 

frightened and enraged Belgians could not 
be pacified, and they beset poor Major 

so unmercifully that he was fain to 

retreat again within the Hotel de Flandre. 

He told us, that the battle of yesterday 
had been severe, and most obstinately con- 
tested. The French, whose superiority of 
force was so great as to surpass all com- 
putation, had borne down with dreadful 
impetuosity upon our little army. " Du- 
ring all his campaigns, and all the bloody 

battles of the Peninsula/' Major 

said, " he had never seen so terrible an 
onset, nor so desperate an engagement. 
The British, formed into impenetrable 
squares, received the French cavalry with 
their bayonets ; drove them back again 
and again ; stood firm beneath the fire of 
their tremendous artillery ; and, after many 
hours hard fighting, completely repulsed 
the enemy, and remained masters of the 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 91 

field of battle/' Our cavalry had come 
up in the evening, but too late to take any 
part in the action. A French General and 
Colonel had come over to the British 
during the battle, crying " Vive le Roi I" 
Their names I heard, but they have since 
escaped nry memory :* indeed, the names 
of men who were base enough treacherously 
to desert the cause even of a rebel and a 
tyrant, in the hour of danger, which they 
had openly espoused, ought only to be 
stamped with everlasting infamy. These 
men must have been doubly traitors, first 
to Louis XVIII. and then to Napoleon 
Buonaparte. 

The French were commanded by Mar- 
shal Ney,*f- who, with three divisions of 

# Since writing the above, I have found that the names 
of these officers were Lieutenant General Beurmont, and 
Colonel Clouet. 

f Ney, in his own account of this battle, says, " in 



92 A PEW DAYS 

infantry, a strong corps of cavalry, (under 
the command of General Kellerman,) and 
a powerful artillery, could make no im- 
pression on one division of British infantry, 
without any cavalry, and with very little 
artillery. It was but too true, that the 
greatest part of the brave Highlanders, 
both men and officers, were amongst the 
killed and wounded. They fought like 
heroes, and like heroes they fell — an honour 
to their country : and on many a High- 
land hill, and through many a Lowland 
valley, long will the deeds of these brave 
men be fondly remembered, and their fate 
deeply deplored ! The 28th had particu- 



spite of my exertions, in spite of the intrepidity and 
devotion of my troops, my utmost exertions could only 
maintain me in my position till the close of the day." 
He then complains grievously of having had only three 
divisions to fight against the British, and boasts of what 
he would have done, if he had had five. — Vide Marshal 
Ney's Letter. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 93 

larly distinguished themselves, and gal- 
lantly repulsed the French in every attack. 

Our friend Major was safe ; and I 

scarcely know whether the assurance of 

his safety, or that he and Sir 

had been in time for the battle, gave me 
the most heartfelt pleasure. Our loss had 
been severe, but that of the enemy much 
greater; but though our loss was less in 
actual numbers, it was much more impor- 
tant to us than that which the enemy had 
sustained was to them. From their great 
superiority of force, the killed and wounded 
fell proportionably heavier on our small 
army ; while theirs was scarcely felt among 
their tremendous hosts. 

When Major came away, about 

half past four in the morning, the Duke 
had made every disposition for battle, in 
the full expectation that a general engage- 
ment would take place this day. " The 



94 A FEW DAYS 

Prussians had fought like lions/' Major 

said; not, however, like British 

lions, for it was but too true that they had 
been defeated and repulsed; though we 
would not at the time give entire credit to 
this disagreeable news. Waggon loads of 
Prussians now began to arrive. Belgic 
soldiers, covered with dust and blood, and 
faint with fatigue and pain, came on foot 
into the town. The moment in which I 
first saw some of these unfortunate people 
was, I think, one of the most painful I ever 
experienced ; and soon, very soon, they 
arrived in numbers. At every jolt of the 
slow waggons upon the rough pavement, we 
seemed to feel the excruciating pain which 
they must suffer. Sick to the very heart 
with horror, I re-entered the hotel, and, in 

answer to something Major said to 

me, I could only exclaim that the wounded 
were coming in. " Good God ! how pale 



RESIDENCE IK BELGIUM. 95 

you look ! For God's sake do not be so 
alarmed/' said the good natured Major 

, compassionately laying his hand 

upon my arm ; " I do assure you there is 
nothing to fear. The wounded must come 
here at any rate : it has nothing to do with 
a defeat/' Long familiarised himself to 
such scenes, they now made no impression 
upon him, and it never occurred to him 
to imagine, that we could be shocked 
by seeing any thing so common as wag- 
gons filled with wounded soldiers. He 
thought it was the victory or the approach 
of the French that I feared. 

Again, however, he strongly recom- 
mended us to set oif immediately. If the 
army should have to retreat and fall back 
upon Brussels, which, considering the im- 
mense force of the enemy, he said, was not 
improbable, the confusion in Brussels 
would be dreadful, and escape impossible. 



96 A FEW DAYS 

The French might even take the town, and 
then our situation would be horrible in- 
deed. Of the prudence and wisdom of 
this advice there could be no doubt. We 
had experienced the utter impracticability 
of getting away in the moment of danger ; 
we knew not how soon that moment might 
return. Had we ourselves possessed the 

means of escape, like the and 

others, who had horses of their own, no- 
thing could have induced us to have left 
Brussels, to the last ; but to remain exposed 
to incessant alarm and to imminent danger, 
in an open town, which before night might 
be in the possession of a merciless enemy, 
whose formidable armies were threatening 
it in two separate divisions, at the distance 
of a very few leagues, seemed certainly 
little less than madness. With extreme 
reluctance, we at last determined to set 
out for Antwerp. The , though they 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 97 

had carriage-horses, were on the point of 

setting off; the carriages of Lady 

and were also at 



their doors, the trunks and imperiales were 
tying on with the utmost dispatch, though 
they had at all times the means of escape 
within their power. 

Our faithless cocher now declared he 
was willing to go with us, as the French, 
he said, were not yet come — and to 
Antwerp accordingly we consented to 
repair. We had had no breakfast all this 
time, nor would it ever have occurred to 
us to procure any, had not the sight of 

Major 's breakfast-tray reminded us 

of our own famishing state. We swallowed 
some coffee and bread, sitting on one of 
the window-seats of the staircase of the 
Hotel de Flandre, and then with great 
regret set off, casting " many a longing, 
lingering look behind/' with feelings of 

H 



98 A FEW DAYS 

anxiety so deep and overwhelming for the 
fate and success of our army, that it en- 
grossed all our faculties. Upon the event 
of the impending battle, which we fully 
believed this very day was to decide, 
depended not only the present as well as 
the future peace and security of Belgium 
and of Europe ; but, what I confess was to 
us even vet more dear, the safety and the 
glory of our gallant army. Absorbed in 
these reflections, as we slowly made our way 
out of the town, we witnessed many a me- 
lancholy sight ; crowds of afflicted people 
were assembled round their poor wounded 
countrymen who had been brought in from 
the field. One soldier was dying at the 
door of his own house : the sobs and la- 
mentations of some of the crowd who were 
collected round him, and the grief marked 
on their countenances, proclaimed them to 
be near relations of the unfortunate sufferer. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 99 

Quite in the suburbs, some poor people 
were hanging over the insensible corpses of 
two soldiers who had died of their wounds. 
The streets were crowded s.o as to be 
scarcely passable: carriages were driving 
past each other as fast as the horses could 
go. All Brussels seemed to be running 
away ; and the only competition appeared 
to be who should run the fastest. The road 
was thronged with people on horseback 
and on foot, flying from the battle, while 
scattered parties of troops, British, Belgic, 
Hanoverian, Nassau, and Prussian, were 
hurrying to the scene of action. A great, 
number of Prussian Lancers, with their 
black mustachios, high caps, long pikes, 
and little horses, were pushing forwards to 
the field. Long trains of commissariat- 
waggons were rolling along with a deafen- 
ing clatter; overturned carts and the fek 

h 2 



100 A FEW DAYS 

mains of broken wheels were lying in the 
ditches. By the way side, and beneath the 
shade of some tall trees, there was a large 
rude sort of encampment, consisting of 
men and women, horses and waggons, 
amongst which universal uproar seemed to 
prevail. I could have fancied them a 
Tartar settlement in the act of suddenly 
decamping at the approach of some horde 
of savage enemies. Farther on, parks of 
artillery were drawn up in the peaceful 
verdant meadows. Droves of oxen were 
going up to be slaughtered for the army, 
and the poor beasts, amazed at the horrid 
objects and noises which they encountered, 
took fright and ran about in every direction 
except the right one, entirely blocking 
up the road, where confusion reigned un- 
bounded : while the barking of the dogs, 
the blows and halloos of the drivers, the 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 101 

curses of the soldiers, and the vexation of 
the passengers, only served to increase the 
turbulence of the unruly cattle. The canal, 
by the side of which the road is carried, 
was covered with boats and trackschuyts 
and coches d'eau and vessels of every de- 
scription, and presented a scene of tumult 
and confusion scarcely inferior to that upon 
land. 

About three miles from Brussels, situated 
upon an eminence above the road, we 
passed the magnificent palace of Lacken. 
I shuddered as I looked up to its lofty 
dome, and recollected that Napoleon had 
made the boast that this very night he 
would sleep beneath its roof. Uncertain 
as we then were, how the day that had 
risen might terminate, believing as we did 
that the eventful battle was even now be- 
gun which was to decide the fate of Europe, 
my heart swelled with the proud confidence, 

h3 



102 A FEW DAYS 

that unprepared, unconcentrated, outnum- 
bered as they were ; leagued with foreign- 
ers who could not be depended upon, and 
with allies who had been defeated, yet that 
under every disadvantage British valour 
would still be triumphant, as it had ever 
been in every contest and at every period. 
Great numbers of wounded stragglers from 
the field were slowly and painfully wander- 
ing along the road, pale and faint from 
loss of blood, and with their heads, arms, 
and legs bound up with bloody bandages. 
We spoke to several of them, but they were 
all either Belgic or Prussian, and did not 
understand a word of French. Two of 
the most severely wounded we took up 
upon our carriage and carried into Malines, 
where they told the cocher their friends 
lived. From him we learnt, that they had 
been wounded in the battle yesterday 
morning. I saw one young English gen- 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 105 

tleman, who was travelling quite alone in 
his own carriage, sternly order down two 
of these unfortunate wounded men from 
his carriage. 

The wounded, however, whom we saw 
were able to move. In time they would 
reach a place of safety and shelter ; but, if 
even their sufferings were so great that the 
very sight of them was painful, what must 
be the state of those who were left bleeding 
on the field of the lost battle, deserted by 
the retreating Prussians, passed by, un- 
pitied and unaided, by the advancing 
French, and abandoned to perish in suf- 
ferings from the bare idea of which huma- 
nity recoils !* The day was unusually 

* Not even imagination could form an idea of the 
dreadful sufferings that the unfortunate soldiers of the 
French and Prussian armies, who were wounded in the 
battles of the 15th and 16th June, were condemned to 
endure. It was not until nearly a week afterwards that 
surgical aid, or assistance of any kind, was given to 

ii 4 



104 A FEW DAYS 

sultry : but if we felt the rays of the sun 
beneath which we journeyed to be so op- 
pressive, what must be the situation of 
the poor unsheltered wounded, exposed 
to its fervid blaze in the open field, with- 
out even a drop of water to cool their 
thirst? What must be the sufferings of 
our ow r n unfortunate men, above all, of 
those who were not only wounded but pri- 
soners, and at the mercy of the merciless 
French? Never — never till this moment 



them. During all this time they remained exposed to 
the burning heat of the noon-day sun, the heavy rains, 
and the chilling dews of midnight, without any sustenance 
except what their importunity extorted from the country 
people, and without any protection even from the flies 
that tormented them. Numbers had expired; the most 
trifling wounds had festered, and amputation in almost 
every instance had become necessary. This, and every 
other necessary operation, was most unskilfully and negli- 
gently performed by the Prussian surgeons. The descrip- 
tion I heard of this scene of horror, from some respecta- 
ble Belgic gentlemen who were spectators of it on the 
Wednesday following, is too dreadful to repeat. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 105 

had I any conception of the horrors of 
war! and they have left an impression 
on my mind which no time can efface. 
Dreadful indeed is the sight of pain and 
misery we have no power to relieve, but 
far more dreadful are the horrors imagina- 
tion pictures of the scene of carnage ; the 
agonies of the wounded and the dying on 
the field of battle, where even the dead 
who had fallen by the sword, in the prime 
of youth and health, are to be envied ! 
— the thought was agony, and yet I could 
not banish it from my mind. 

At a little inn, half way to Malines, we 
got out of the carriage while the horses 
were eating their rye-bread, and the poor 
people of the village crowded around us 
with faces of the greatest consternation and 
distress, to inquire what had happened. 
They had heard such varying and contra- 
dictory reports that they knew not what to 



106 A FEW DAYS 

believe, but terror was the predominant 
feeling ; and their horrcr of the approach 
of the French, which they were convinced 
would happen sooner or later, surpassed 
every thing I could have imagined. In 
spite of all we could say to inspire confi- 
dence, and to convince them that the 
English had been, and would still be, vic- 
torious, and that the French would never 
again be masters of Belgium, their appre- 
hensions completely overpowered their 
hopes ; and their alarm and consternation 
were truly pitiable. I asked them why 
they feared the French so much? With 
one accord they immediately burst out into 
exclamations, that they would plunder and 
destroy every thing, and rob and murder 
them ; — that they were monsters who had 
no pity and would shew no mercy : — " Oh ! 
what will become of us ! what will become 
of us !" was the universal cry of these poor 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 107 

affrighted peasants. They were anxious 
about the Duke of Brunswick, and when 
they heard that he had really fallen, (which 

we had learnt from Major ,) their 

lamentations were great, and the certainty 
of his fate seemed to increase their despon- 
dency. He must have been a good prince 
whose fate could at such a moment be 
deplored. He had a country seat in the 
neighbourhood of Lacken, and he was 
consequently well known and much be- 
loved in this part of the country. An 
officer in a dark military great coat, whom 
I took for a German, hearing me talk to 
some poor affrighted women with babies 
in their arms, whom I was endeavouring 
to reassure, asked me in French if I had 
come from Brussels, and what was the 
issue of yesterday's battle ? I tolcl him all 
the particulars I knew, and after some 
minutes' conversation he said at last, with 



108 A FEW DAYS 

the air of a person paying a compliment, 
that he understood some of my countrymen 
had behaved most gallantly : " comme 
braves hommes" was his expression. 
" Some of my countrymen !" I indignantly 
exclaimed, feeling myself turn as red as 
fire at this foreigner's degrading and par- 
tial praise of the British army — " they all 
behaved most gallantly, they fought like 
heroes ; how else should the French have 
been repulsed : and when did the English 
behave otherwise V s " The English ! but 
you are not English surely, Madame V 
said the officer. " Oui, Monsieur/' said I 
proudly, " je suis Anglaise." " Et moi 
aussi," said he, half laughing ; and during 
the short time our conversation lasted, we 
condescended to make use of our mother- 
tongue. He proved to be an English 
officer going from Antwerp to join the 
army, and I took him for a German, 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 109 

chiefly I think because he accosted me in 
French, and because he did not look much 
like an Englishman. Why he took me for 
a Belgian, heaven only knows ; it was not 
likely that a Belgic lady should be speak- 
ing in French to the Belgic people, rather 
than in the common language of the 
country. 

A party of Nassau troops, in their way 
to the army, were sitting drinking in some 
long Flemish waggons at the door of the 
inn. A Prussian hussar, whom we had 
passed on the road, arrived while we were 
there. The moment he dismounted from 
his horse he was assailed by the Nassau 
soldiers for news of the battle. While he 
was telling them his story, anxiety for intelli- 
gence made me draw as near as I durst. 
The loud voices of the soldiers, however, 
drowned the greater part of his recital, 
and their language was so barbarous that. 



110 A FEW DAYS 

I could only make out that they were 
making a joke of Louis XVIII., and 
laughing at the idea of the fright he would 
be in, and saying, that he was so fat and 
unwieldy, he would never be able to run 
away before Napoleon's, long legs overtook 
him. Such at least seemed to me to be 
the subject of their mirth. The hussar, 
seeing me, I suppose, gazing at him very 
wistfully, respectfully took off his cap, 
which encouraged me to ask him if I had 
not misunderstood him, that I thought I 
had heard him say the French had beaten 
the Prussians. " No, Madame," said he, 
with an air of great concern, " it is really 
so; the French did beat the Prussians." 
" The French beat the Prussians V I ex- 
claimed : " Did you say, Sir, that the 
French had beat the Prussians? are you 
sure of it T " Too sure, Madame : I was 
in the battle." I now perceived for \h% 



RESIDENCE I]\ T BELGIUM. Ill 

first time that he was slightly wounded : 
his long blue cloak, which nearly descended 
to his feet, had concealed it. He told us 
that, after a very desperate engagement, 
the Prussians had been repulsed, and that 
the French were in great force. We had 
repeatedly heard this at Brussels, but, 
unwilling to believe bad news, we had 
hoped it would prove false, and even yet 
we would gladly have taken refuge in 
incredulity. 

The garcon of this inn, a fine youth 
with a most engaging countenance, was 
in great anxiety and alarm at the approach 
of the French, and he implored us to tell 
him the whole truth, for if they should 
come it would cost him his life, and he 
would fly to the end of the world to 
avoid them. We assured him that the 
French had been repulsed yesterday, when 
our force was not half collected, and that, 



112 A FEW DAYS 

now that the cavalry and all the troops 
had joined the army, there could be no 
doubt that the English would be victo- 
rious. " Ah ! je l'espfere !" said the garp on ; 
" mais ils sont terribles, ces Francois." 
We assured him that terrible as they were, 
they would never conquer the British and 
Belgic army, nor regain possession of Bel- 
gium. The garfon fervently prayed they 
never might : — " Mais, je ne sais quoi 
faire, moi," said this poor youth in his 
Belgic French, with a face of extreme 
perplexity, as we drove off. 

Of the town of Malines (Mechlin) I do 
not retain the smallest remembrance ; but 
the consternation of the people with whom 
it was crowded, and their faces of terror 
and distress I shall never forget. They 
were struck with universal dismay, and so 
thoroughly convinced that Napoleon would 
be victorious, that we might as well have 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 113 

talked to the winds as have told them that 
he would be defeated. They only shook 
their heads and despondingly said, " Ah ! 
he has so many soldiers, and he is so 
desperate — and he cares not how many 
thousands he sacrifices; he cares for no- 
thing but his ambition : — Oh ! he will be 
here, that is too certain/' The garpon 
of this inn had been a conscript and 
served two years in the French army. At 
the expiration of that period he had pro- 
cured a substitute for one thousand florins, 
which money, I suspect, he had amassed 
by plunder. He was, however, a most 
intelligent man, and his hatred of the 
French, and of Napoleon in particular, 
was so strong, that he could not refrain 
from pouring out a most eloquent torrent 
of invective against him : " and throughout 
the whole of Belgium he is equally dreaded 
and detested in every place — except at 

i 



114 A FEW DAYS 

Antwerp/' added he, correcting himself; 
" there he has some adherents, for many 
people grew rich by the public works, 
and by making the docks, and building 
the ships, and supplying the arsenal ; and 
many grew rich upon the distresses of the 
people — and therefore they wish for him 
back again/' My brother observed that 
he had certainly done a great deal for 
Antwerp, and made great improvements, 
and he particularly mentioned the docks 
and the quays. 

" Yes ! he did a great many fine things 
to be sure at Antwerp, but he took care to 
make us pay for them. Au reste," con- 
tinued he, " the people of Antwerp, that 
is, the merchants and the manufacturers 
and all the decent industrious people, 
hate him, with their whole hearts/' " And 
why do the Belgians all hate him so 
much V I asked. " Why ! because he 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 115 

stopped our trade ; he ruined our manu- 
factures and commerce ; he took our men 
to fight his battles, and our money to fill 
his pockets — and he took from us the 
means to get money : here in this very 
town the lace manufacturers were starved ; 
the work-women had no employment ; our 
streets were filled with beggars — our priests 
w T ere insulted — he destroyed, he consumed 
every thing/' " II a mange tout," was the 
phrase he frequently repeated, with an ex- 
pression of voice and gesture so strong that 
I can give no idea of it. " But he cannot 
live without war, nor can the French ; it is 
their trade — they live by it — they make their 
fortunes by it — they place all their hopes 
in it ; they are wolves that prey upon other 
nations ; they live by blood and plunder : 
— They are true banditti, (vrais brigands,) 
and they are so cruel, so wicked — ils 
sont si medians" — It is impossible to give 

i2 



116 A FEW DAYS 

tlie force of this expression in a literal 
translation. When we asked him if the 
Belgians did not dislike the Dutch, and 
if the government of the House of Orange 
was not unpopular? he said* " Je vous 
dirai, Monsieur — Les Hollandais et les 
Beiges never liked each other, and one 
great reason is the difference of our reli- 
gion. They think us Papists and bigots, 
and we think them Puritans and Calvinists ; 
besides we were always rivals and always 
jealous of each other, and we think (c'est 
a dire les Beiges) that their king becoming 
our king, is as if we had fallen under theit 
dominion. If we may not be an indepen- 
dent nation, we would, perhaps, rather 
belong to the English or to the Austrians, 
but we would rather belong to any thing — ■ 
to the devil himself — than to Napoleon 
Buonaparte/' 

The poor lace-makers whom we saw 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 117 

were in nervous alarm and trepidation at 
the expected approach of the dreaded 
French, whom they reviled with all the 
bitterness and volubility of female elo- 
quence. The same sentiments were writ- 
ten upon every countenance, and uttered 
by every tongue. In every village and 
every hamlet through which we passed, 
the utmost consternation seemed to reign. 
We met officers on horseback and detach- 
ments of troops marching to join the army. 
It was with difficulty I refrained from be- 
seeching them to hasten forwards : it 
seemed to me that every man was of im- 
portance. At another time I might have 
been interested with seeing the country; 
but now— I could not look at it— I could 
not think of it ; and as my eye rested with 
a vacant gaze upon the waving fields of 
luxuriant corn through which we passed, 
I could only feel the heart-sickening dread, 
i 3 



118 A FEW DAYS 

that the harvests of Belgium, though they 
had been sown in peace, would be reaped 
in blood. We had every reason to think 
that the mortal struggle had been renewed ; 
Lord Wellington himself, the whole army 
expected it. How then was it possible, 
believing as we did, that within a few 
leagues of us, the battle was at that time 
raging that was to decide the fate of 
Europe, and give or take from our gallant 
countrymen the palm of victory and of 
glory — that we could for a single instant 
feel the smallest interest about any thing 
else ? 

At a distance, we saw the lofty spire of 
the cathedral of Antwerp, without then 
admiring its beauty, or even being con- 
scious that it was beautiful. We looked, 
we felt, indeed, like moving automatons. 
Our persons were there, but our minds 
were absent. Every step w r e took only 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 119 

seemed to increase our solicitude for all 
we left behind. Our thoughts still to the 
battle 

" turned with ceaseless pain, 
And dragged at each remove a lengthening chain." 

A tremendous storm of thunder and 
lightning and rain burst over our heads. 
Jt was peculiarly awful. But what are the 
thunder and lightnings of heaven to the 
thunder and lightnings of war which, per- 
haps, at this very moment, were sweeping 
away thousands ! The thunderbolts of 
God are merciful and harmless ; those of 
man deadly and destructive. We thought 
of this storm, as of every thing else, only 
with reference to our army — to those who 
were fighting, and those who were bleeding 
on the field of battle, and who were ex- 
posed unsheltered to its rage. 

We gazed with admiration at the 
threatening walls and ancient battlements 

i*4 



120 



A FEW DAYS 



of Antwerp, which are encircled with a 
wooden palisade. This seemed a com- 
plete work of supererogation, and struck 
me as being something like putting a 
strong box of iron into a band-box of 
pasteboard for further security.* Three 
walls of immense strength and thickness, 
surrounded by three broad deep ditches 
or moats, lay one behind another. To 
an ignorant, unpractised eye like mine, its 
fortifications seemed to be impregnable ; 
and as we passed under its gloomy gates, 
and slowly crossed its sounding draw- 
bridges, I heartily wished that the whole 
British army were safe within its walls. — 
This was certainly more " a woman's than 
a warrior's wish/' Antwerp was already 
crowded with fugitives from Brussels ; and 

* This was, I find, only a proof of my ignorance ; I 
afterwards learnt that wooden palisades add greatly to 
the strength of fortifications. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 121 

with considerable difficulty we got the ac- 
commodation of two very small rooms in 
the hotel of Le Grand Labourer, in the 
Place de Maire. 

No later authentic intelligence than that 
which we had heard previously to leaving 
Brussels had been received here; reports 
of all kinds assailed us, as quick and 
varying as the tints of the evening clouds, 
but we could learn nothing; the com- 
mandant knew nothing ; we could not even 
ascertain whether another engagement had 
taken place to-day, and in miserable sus- 
pense we passed the remainder of the 



evening. 



One of the apartments in our hotel was 
occupied by the corpse of the Duke of 
Brunswick, which had arrived about two 
o'clock. It had been already embalmed, 
and was now placed in its first coffin. My 
brother went to see it : but the room was 



122 A FEW DAYS 

so crowded with guards and soldiers, British 
and foreign military, and with people of 
every description, that neither my sister 
nor I chose to go. My brother described 
the countenance as remarkably placid and 
noble ; serene even in death. It was past 

midnight : J and S had gone to 

rest, and I was sitting alone, listening to 
the incessant torrents of rain which drove 
furiously against the windows, and think- 
ing of our army, who were lying on the 
cold, wet ground, overcome with toil, and 
exposed to all " the pelting of the pitiless 
storm/' Every thing was silent, — when I 
heard, all at once, the dismal sounds of 
nailing down the coffin of the Duke of 
Brunswick. It was a solemn and affecting 
sound ; it was the last knell of the departed 
princely warrior : when at length it ceased, 
and all again was silent, I went down 
with the young woman of the house, to look 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 123 

at the last narrow mansion of this brave 
and unfortunate prince. Tapers were 
burning at the head and foot of the coffin. 
The room was now cleared of all, except- 
ing two Brunswick officers who were 
watching over it, and whose pale, mournful 
countenances, sable uniforms, and black 
nodding plumes, well accorded with this 
gloomy chamber of death. It was but 
yesterday that this prince, in the flower of 
life and fortune, went out to the field full of 
military ardour, and gloriously fell leading 
on his soldiers to battle. But he has lived 
long enough who has lived to acquire 
glory : he dies a noble death who dies for 
his country. The Duke of Brunswick 
lived and died like a hero, and he has left 
his monument in the hearts of his people, 
by whom his fate will be long and deeply 
lamented ; and by future times his memory 
will be honoured. 



124 A FEW DAYS 

It seemed to be my invariable lot at the 
dead hour of the night to be disturbed with 
some new and terrible alarm. I had not 
returned many minutes to my room, after 
this visit to the remains of departed great- 
ness, and I was just preparing to go to bed, 
when I suddenly heard the well known 
hateful sounds of the rolling of heavy mili- 
tary carriages, passing rapidly through the 
streets, which were instantly succeeded by 
the trampling of horses' feet, the clamour 
of voices, and all the hurry of alarm. The 
streets seemed thronged with people. 
Concluding that some news must have ar-i 
rived, I hastily went out to the little apart- 
ment which the young woman of the house 
occupied, and where she told me at any 
hour she was to be found — but she was 
gone, and the noise below was so great, 
and the men's voices so loud, that I durst 
not venture down stairs. I wandered 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 125 

along the passages, and hung over the ba- 
lustrades of the staircase, listening to this 
increasing noise in a state of the most pain- 
ful suspense. At last the girl returned with 
a countenance of consternation, and pale 
as death. I eagerly inquired, if there was 
any news. She said that there was ; the 
very worst ! — that all was lost ; that our 
army had been compelled to retreat, and 
were falling back upon Brussels : the 
French pursuing them. All the English 
had left Brussels. People in carriages, on 
horseback, and on foot, were flying into 
Antwerp in the greatest dismay. Baggage 
waggons, ammunition, and artillery, were 
pouring into the town on all sides : and 
" enfin, Madame/' said she, " tout est per- 
du r 

For a few minutes, consternation over- 
powered all my faculties. The English 
retreating, pursued by the French, over- 



126 A FEW DAYS 

whelmed by a tremendous superiority of 
numbers — our gallant countrymen vainly 
sacrificed — the flower of our army laid 
low — Buonaparte and the French triumph- 
ant ! — the thought was not to be borne : 
till this moment I never knew the bitter- 
ness, the extent of my hatred to them. It 
never occurred to me to doubt that there 
had been a battle, and it seemed too pro- 
bable that its result had been unfavourable 
to the British. I hoped, however, that 
they were only retreating in consequence 
of their extreme inferiority of force to the 
enemy, to wait until they were joined 
either by the fresh reinforcements of pur 
own troops which were expected, or by 
the Russians. Some experienced officers 
had thought this might probably happen, 
even when the troops first marched out of 
Brussels. I recollected Lord Wellington 
entrenching himself in the lines of Torres 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 127 

Vedras. I recalled with proud confidence 
the multiplied triumphs of my countrymen 
in arms, and I firmly believed that, what- 
ever might be the temporary reverses, or 
appearance of reverse, they w r ould even- 
tually prove victorious. 

But in vain I endeavoured to reassure 
this poor terrified girl, or inspire her with 
the conviction I felt myself, that though 
the English might retreat before an over- 
powering force, against which it would be 
madness to keep the field, they only re- 
treated to advance with more strength; 
and that when joined by fresh reinforce- 
ments they would give battle and beat the 
French ; and that with such a general and 
such an army they never had been, and 
they never could be, defeated. 

I succeeded much better in inspiring 
myself with hope and confidence than this 
poor young woman ; but all that I my- 



128 A FEW BAYS 

self endured during this long night of 
misery is not to be imagined or described. 
The uncertain fate of our army, their cri- 
tical situation, and the dread that some 
serious reverse had befallen them, filled 
my mind with the most dreadful apprehen- 
sions. Worn out as I had been with two 
successive nights of sleepless alarm, this 
news had effectually murdered sleep ; and 
even when fatigue for a few minutes over- 
powered my senses, I started up again 
with a sense of horror, to listen to the beat- 
ing of the heavy torrents of rain, and the 
dismal sounds of alarm which filled the 
streets ; the rattle of carriages continually 
driving to the door, crowded with fugitives 
who vainly solicited to be taken in, and 
drove away utterly at a loss where to find 
a place of shelter ; and the deafening noise 
of the rolling of heavy military waggons 
which, during the whole night, never ceased 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 129 

a single moment. So deep. was the im- 
pression these sounds had made upon my 
senses, so associated had they now become 
with feelings of dismay and alarm, that 
long after every terror was ended in the 
glorious certainty of victory, 1 never could 
hear the rattling of these carriages, and 
the thundering of their wheels, without a 
sensation of horror that went to my very 
heart. 

The morning, the eventful morning of 
Sunday the 18th of June rose, darkened 
by clouds and mists and driving rain. 
Amongst the rest of the fugitives, our friends 

the arrived about seven o'clock, 

and, after considerable difficulty and delay, 
succeeded in obtaining a wretched little 
hole in a private house, with a miserable 
pallet bed, and destitute of all other 
furniture ; but they were too glad to find 
shelter, and too thankful to get into a 
place of safety, to complain of these ^COn- 



130 A FEW DAYS 

veniences; and overcome with fatigue they 
went immediately to bed. It was not with- 
out considerable difficulty and danger that 
their carriage had got out of the choked 
up streets of Brussels, and made its way to 
Malines, where they had been for a time 
refused shelter. At length the golden ar- 
guments Mr. used, obtained for 

them admittance into a room, filled with 
people of all sexes, ages, countries, and 
ranks — French Princes and foreign Counts, 
and English Barons, and Right Honourable 
ladies and gentlemen, together with a con- 
siderable mixture of less dignified beings, 
were all lying together outstretched upon 
the tables, the chairs, and the floor ; some 
groaning, and some complaining, and 
many snoring, and almost all of them com- 
pletely drenched with rain. The water 

streamed from Mr. — 's clothes, who 

had driven his own carriage. In this si- 
tuation they, too, lay down and slept 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 131 

while their horses rested; and then at break 
of day pursued their flight. A hundred 
Napoleons had been vainly offered for a 
pair of horses but a few hours after we 
left Brussels, and the scene of panic and 
confusion which it presented on Saturday 
evening surpassed all conception. The 
certainty of the defeat of the Prussians ; of 
their retreat ; and of the retreat of the Bri- 
tish army, prepared the people to expect 
the worst. Aggravated reports of disaster 
and dismay continually succeeded to each 
other : the despair and lamentations of the 
Belgians ; the anxiety of the English to 
learn the fate of their friends who had been 
in the battle the preceding day ; the dread- 
ful spectacle of the waggon loads of 
wounded coming in, and the terrified fu- 
gitives flying out in momentary expecta- 
tion of the arrival of the French : — the 
streets, the roads, the canals covered with 
k2 



132 A FEW DAYS 

boats, carriages, waggons, horses, and 
crowds of unfortunate people, flying from 
this scene of horror and danger, formed 
altogether a combination of tumult, terror, 
and misery, which cannot be described. 
Numbers, even of ladies, unable to procure 
any means of conveyance, set off on foot, 
and walked in the dark, beneath the pelt- 
ing storm, to Malines : and the distress of 
the crowds who now filled Antwerp, it is 
utterly impossible to conceive. We were, 
however, soon inexpressibly relieved, by 
hearing that there had been no engagement 
of any consequence the preceding day; 
that the British army had fallen back seven 
miles in order to take up a position more 
favourable for the cavalry ; that they were 
now about nine miles from Brussels ; and 
that a general, and, most probably, a de- 
cisive action would inevitably take place 
to-day. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 133 

Although it continued to rain, we set out, 
for to sit still in the house was impossible, 
and after passing through several streets, we 
went into the cathedral where high mass 
was performing, and where 

" Through the long drawn aisle and fretted vault 
The pealing anthem swell'd the note of praise." 

For a while its solemn harmony seemed 
to calm the fever of my mind ; it elevated 
my thoughts to that God, in whose uner- 
ring wisdom and divine mercy I could 
alone at this awful moment put my trust, 
and to Him " who is the only giver of vic- 
tory," and at whose command empires rise 
and fall, flourish and decay, to Him who 
alone has power to save and to destroy, I 
breathed a silent prayer to bless the British 
arms, to shield my brave and heroic coun- 
trymen in the hour of danger, and give to 
them the success and glory of the battle. 
Intelligence arrived that the action had 
k3 



134 A FEW DAYS 

commenced. We were told that the 
French had attacked the British this 
morning at day-break : the contending 
armies were actually engaged, and the 
last, the dreadful battle was at this very 
moment deciding. 

It is impossible for any but those who 
have actually experienced it to conceive 
the dreadful, the overwhelming anxiety of 
beins; so near such eventful scenes, without 
being actually engaged in them ; to know 
that within a few leagues, the dreadful 
storm of war is raging in all its horrors, 
and the mortal conflict going forward 
which is to decide the glory of your coun- 
try, and the security of the world: — to 
think that while you are sitting in passive 
inactivity, or engaged in the most trifling 
occupations, your brave countrymen are 
fighting and falling in the uncertain battle, 
and your friends and those whose fate you 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 135 

may deplore through life, perhaps at that 
very moment breathing their last : — to be 
surrounded by misery that you cannot 
console, and sufferings that you cannot 
relieve : — to wait, to look, to long in vain 
for intelligence : — to be distracted with a 
thousand confused and contradictory ac- 
counts without being able to ascertain the 
truth : — to be at one moment elevated with 
hope, and the next depressed with fear : — 
to endure the long-protracted suspense — 
the deep-wrought feelings of expectation- — 
the incessant alarms — the ever-varying 
reports — the dreadful rumours of evil — 
Oh ! it was a state of misery almost too 
great, too agonizing for human endurance I 
Never — never shall I forget the torturing 
suspense, the intense anxiety of mind, and 
agitation of spirit in which this day was 
passed. In the midst of all that could 
interest the mind and charm the fancy, 
k4 



136 



A FEW DAYS 



and surrounded by all that, at any other 
time, would have afforded me the highest 
gratification, I could neither see, hear, 
observe, admire, nor understand any thing ; 
I could think of nothing but the battle. 
In vain I tried to distract my thoughts, or 
to force my attention even for a moment to 
other things : the situation of our army, 
their danger, their success, their sufferings, 
and their glory, were for ever present to 
me. Unable to rest, we wandered me- 
chanically about the town, regardless of 
the frequent showers of rain, and of the 
deep and dirty streets, anxiously awaiting 
the arrival of news from the army — though 
well aware that for many hours nothing 
could be known of the event of the battle. 
With a view to dissipate our fruitless an- 
xiety, and as a shelter from the rain, we 
visited several cabinets of paintings : but I 
beheld the noblest works. of art, and the 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 137 

finest monuments of departed genius, with 
indifference. Not even the sublime touches, 
the affecting images, and the unrivalled, 
productions of Guido, and Raphael, and 
Rubens ; not all the force, the pathos, and 
the expression of their powerful genius, 
could at this moment charm or even interest 
me ; for I had no power to feel their 
beauties. 

Every faculty of our minds was absorbed 
in one feeling, one thought, one interest ; 
— we seemed like bodies without souls. 
Our persons and our outward senses were 
indeed present in Antwerp, but our whole 
hearts and souls were with the army. 

In the course of our wanderings we met 
many people whom we knew, and had 
much conversation with many whom we 
did not know. At this momentous crisis, 
one feeling actuated every heart — one 
thought engaged every tongue — one com- 



138 A FEW DAYS 

mon interest bound together every human 
being. All ranks were confounded ; all 
distinctions levelled ; all common forms 
neglected. Gentlemen and servants ; lords 
and common soldiers ; British and fo- 
reigners, were all upon an equality, — 
elbowing each other without ceremony, 
and addressing each other without apology. 
Ladies accosted men they had never before 
seen with eager questions without hesita- 
tion ; strangers conversed together like 
friends, and English reserve seemed no 
longer to exist. From morning till night 
the great Place de Maire was completely 
filled with people, standing under umbrel- 
las and eagerly watching for news of the 
battle ; so closely packed was this anxious 
crowd, that, when viewed from the hotel 
windows, nothing could be seen but one 
compact mass of umbrellas. As the day 
advanced the consternation became greater. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 139 

The number of terrified fugitives from 
Brussels, upon whose faces were marked 
the deepest anxiety and distress, and who 
thronged into the town on horseback and 
on foot, increased the general dismay, 
while long rows of carriages lined the 
streets, filled with people who could find 
no place of shelter. 

Troops from the Hanseatic towns 
marched in to strengthen the garrison of 
the city in case of a siege. Long trains 
of artillery, ammunition, military stores 
and supplies of all sorts incessantly poured 
in, and there seemed to be no end of the 
heavy waggons that rolled through the 
streets. Reports more and more gloomy 
reached our ears ; every hour only served 
to add to the general despondenc}^ On 
«very side we heard that the battle was 
fought under circumstances so disadvanta- 
geous to the British, and against a prepon- 



140 A FEW DAYS 

derance of force so overpowering, that it- 
was impossible it could be won. Long 
did we resist the depressing impression 
these alarming accounts were calculated 
to make upon our minds; long did we 
believe, in spite of every unfavourable ap- 
pearance, that the British would be vic- 
torious. Towards evening a wounded 
officer arrived, bringing intelligence that 
the onset had been most terrible, and so 
immense were the numbers of the enemy, 
that he " did not believe it was in the 
power of man to save the battle/' To 
record the innumerable false reports we 
heard spread by the terrified fugitives, 
who continually poured into the town 
from Brussels, would be endless. At 
length, after an interval of the most tor- 
turing suspense, a wounded British officer 
of hussars, scarcely able to sit his horse, 
and faint from loss of blood, rode up to 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 141 

the door of the hotel, and told us the disas- 
trous tidings, that the battle was lost, and 
that Brussels, by this time, was in the pos- 
session of the enemy. He said, that in 
all the battles he had ever been engaged 
in, he had never witnessed any thing at all 
equal to the horrors of this. The French 
had fought with the most desperate valour, 
but, when he left the field, they had been 
repulsed by the British at every point with 
immense slaughter : the news of the defeat 
had, however, overtaken him on the road ; 
all the baggage belonging to the army was 
taken or destroyed, and the confusion 
among the French at Vittoria, he said, 
was nothing to this. He had himself been 
passed by panic-struck fugitives from the 
field, flying for their lives, and he had been 
obliged to hurry forward, notwithstanding 
his wounds, in order to effect his escape. 
Two gentlemen from Brussels corroborated 



142 A FEW DAYS 

this dreadful account : in an agitation that 
almost deprived them of the power of ut- 
terance, they declared that when they 
came away, Brussels presented the most 
dreadful scene of tumult, horror, and con- 
fusion ; that intelligence had been received 
of the complete defeat of the British, and 
that the French were every moment ex- 
pected. The carnage had been most 
tremendous. The Duke of Wellington, 
they said, was severely wounded; Sir 
Dennis Pack killed ; and all our bravest 
officers killed, wounded, or prisoners. In 
vain we inquired, where, if the battle was 
lost, where was now, and what had become 
of the British army? — " God alone knows/' 
was the answer. The next moment we 
heard from a gentleman who had just ar- 
rived, that before he left Brussels, the 
French had actually entered it; that he 
had himself seen a party of them ; and 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 143 

another gentleman (an officer, I believe) 
declared he had been pursued by them 
more than half way to Malines. 

Dreadful was the panic and dismay 
that now seized the unfortunate Belgians, 
and in the most piercing tones of horror 
and despair they cried out, that the French 
would be at the gates before morning. 
Some English people, thinking Antwerp 
no longer safe, set off for Breda, late as it 
was. Later still, accounts were brought 
(as we afterwards understood) by three 
British officers of the Guards, confirming 
the dreadful tidings of defeat ; it was even 
said that the French were already at 
Malines. We believed, we trusted that 
these reports of evil were greatly exagge- 
rated; we did not credit their dreadful 
extent, but that some terrible reverse had 
befallen the British army it was no longer 
possible to doubt. During the whole of 



144 A FEW DAYS 

this dreadful night, the consternation, the 
alarm, the tumult, the combination of 
horrid noises that filled the streets, I shall 
never forget. The rapid rolling of the 
carriages, the rattle of artillery, and the 
slow heavy motion of the large waggons 
filled with wounded soldiers, which inces- 
santly entered the town, were the most 
dismal of all. 

Of the bitter agony, the most deep- 
seated affliction that now overwhelmed us, 
it would be in vain to speak. There are 
feelings in the human heart that can find 
no utterance in words, and which lie too 
deep for tears : and the conviction that 
the British army had been defeated — the 
dreadful uncertainty of its fate — and the 
heart-piercing sight of my brave, my un- 
fortunate wounded countrymen returning 
from the lost battle in which their valour 
had been exerted, and their blood been 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 145 

shed in vain, awakened sensations which 
no visible emotion, no power of language 
could express ; but which have left an im- 
pression on my mind that no lapse of time 
can efface. No private calamity, however 
great, that had befallen myself individually, 
could have afflicted me with such bitter 
anguish as I now suffered. The image of 
the British troops retreating before a con- 
quering, an insulting, a merciless enemy — 
defeated, perhaps cut to pieces : the idea of 
their misfortunes and their sufferings — of 
the wounded abandoned to perish on the 
fatal field ; the misery of thousands ; the 
distress in which it would plunge my 
country; the years of war and bloodshed, 
and all the dreadful consequences it would 
bring upon the world, incessantly haunted 
my mind during this long night of misery. 
Overpowered by three days and nights of 
extreme fatigue, anxiety, and agitation, I 

L 



146 A FEW DAYS 

fell at times into a sort of unquiet slumber ; 
but my busy fancy still presented the 
horrid images of terror and distress, and 
repeatedly I started up from uneasy sleep 
to the dreadful consciousness of waking 
misery: Oh! it was a night of unspeakable 
horror — 

" Nor when morning came 

Did the realities of light and day 

Bring aught of comfort : wheresoe'er we went 

The tidings of defeat had gone before ; 

And leaving their defenceless homes, to seek 

What shelter walls and battlements might yield, 

Old men with feeble feet, and tottering babes, 

And widows with their infants in their arms 

Hurried along — nor royal festival, 

Nor sacred pageant — with like multitude 

E'er fill'd the public way : — all whom the sword 

Had spared — fled here !" 

Southeys Roderick. 

With a heavy heart, I rose and dressed 
myself, and went out before eight o'clock, 
attended only by our old valet de place, 
who with a sorrowful countenance awaited 
me at the foot of the stairs. From him, 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 14T 

and from the master of the hotel, who were 
both on the watch for news, I learnt that 
no official intelligence had been received, 
no courier had arrived : but no doubt was 
entertained of the truth of the dreadful 
reports of the night, and the events of every 
hour seemed to give full confirmation of 
the worst. I traversed the gloomy streets, 
anxiously gazing at every melancholy care- 
worn countenance I met, as if there I 
could read the truth. I was struck to the 
heart with horror by the sight of the heavy 
loaded waggons of wounded soldiers which 
incessantly passed by me; while litters 
borne silently along on men's shoulders 
gave dreadful indications of sufferings more 
severe, or nearer their final termination; 
nor were they less painful to the thoughts 
from being unseen. Imagination perhaps 
conjured up sufferings more dreadful than 
l2 



148 A FEW DAYS 

the reality, — sufferings at which my blood 
ran cold. 

Wholly forgetful of some business I had 
to transact, I hurried through the streets 
with the vague hope of hearing some deci- 
sive intelligence ; certain that any thing, 
even the knowledge of the worst, would be 
preferable to this state of wretchedness and 
torturing suspense. At last, without in- 
tending it, I found myself near the Malines 
gate. Conducted by the old valet, I 
turned into a narrow street on my right, 
where, to my inexpressible astonishment, I 
saw five wounded Highland soldiers who, 
in spite of the bandages which enveloped 
their heads, arms, and legs, were shouting 
and huzzaing with the most vociferous de- 
monstrations of joy. In answer to my 
eager questions, they told me that a courier 
had that moment entered the town from the 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 149 

Duke of Wellington, bringing an account 
that the British had gained a complete 
victory, that the remains of the French 
army were in full retreat, and the English 
in pursuit of them. 

To the last hour of my life, never shall 
I forget the sensations of that moment. 
Scarcely daring to credit the extent of this 
wonderful, this transporting news, I did, 
however, believe that the English had 
gained the victory ; believed it with feelings 
to which no language can do justice, and 
which found relief in tears of joy that I 
could not repress. For some minutes I 
was unable to speak. The overpowering 
emotions which filled my heart were far too 
powerful for expression ; but the boon of 
life to the wretch whose head is laid upon 
the block could scarcely be received with 
more transport and gratitude. The sudden 
transition from the depth of despair to joy 



150 A FEW DAYS 

unutterable was almost too great to be 
borne. 

In the mean time the Highlanders, re- 
gardless of their wounds, their fatigues, 
their dangers and their sufferings, kept 
throwing up their Highland bonnets into 
the air, and continually vociferating, — 
" Boney's beat ! Boney's beat ! hurrah ! 
hurrah ! Boney's beat !" Their tumultuous 
joy attracted round them a number of old 
Flemish women, who were extremely cu- 
rious to know the cause of this uproar, 
and kept gabbling to the soldiers in their 
own tongue. One of them, more eager 
than the rest, seized one of the men by his 
coat, pulling at it, and making the most 
ludicrous gestures imaginable to induce 
him to attend to her ; while the Highlander, 
quite forgetting in his transport that the old 
woman did not understand Scotch, kept 
vociferating that " Boney was beat, and 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 151 

rinning away till his ain country as fast as 
he could gang/' At any other time, the 
old Flemish woman, holding the soldier 
fast, shrugging up her shoulders, and 
making these absurd grimaces, and the 
Highlander roaring to her in broad Scotch, 
would have presented a most laughable 
scene — " Hout, ye auld gowk/' cried the 
good-humoured soldier, " dinna ye ken 
that Bonney's beat — what, are ye deef ? — 
dare say the wife — I say Bonney's beat, 
woman ¥' When the news was explained 
to the old women they were in an extasy 
almost as great as that of the Highlanders 
themselves, and the joy of the old valet was 
quite unbounded. These poor men were 
on their way to the Hospital, but they did 
not know which way to go; they were 
ignorant of the language, and could not 
inquire. I thought of sending the valet de 
place with them, who was extremely will- 

l4 



152 A FEW DAYS 

ing to conduct " ces bons Ecossois," as 
he called them, but then I could not easily 
have found my own way home; so the 
valet de place, the soldiers, and I, all went 
to the Hospital together. Our progress was 
slow, for one of them was very lame, 
another had lost three of the fingers of his 
right hand, and had a ball lodged in his 
shoulder. Some of them were from the 
Highlands, and some from the Lowlands, 
and when they found that I came from 
Scotland, and lived upon the Tweed, they 
were quite delighted. One of them was 
from the Tweed as well as myself, he said, 
" he cam' oot o' Peeblesshire/' 

After parting with them close to the 
Hospital, I returned homewards, and by 
the time I reached the Place de Maire it 
was thronged with multitudes of people, 
who seemed at a loss how to give vent to 
their transport. One loud universal buzz 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 153 

of voices filled the streets ; one feeling per- 
vaded every heart ; one expression beamed 
on every face : in short, the people were 
quite wild with joy, and some of them 
really seemed by no means in possession 
of their senses. At the door of our hotel 
the first sight I beheld among the crowds 
that encircled it, was an English lady, who 
had apparently attained the full meridian 
of life, with a night-cap stuck on the top 
of her head, discovering her hair in papil- 
lotes beneath, attired in a long white flan- 
nel dressing-gown, loosely tied about her 
waist, with the sleeves tucked up above the 
elbows. She was flying about in a distracted 
manner, with a paper in her hand, loudly 
proclaiming the glorious tidings, continually 
repeating the same thing, and rejoicing, la- 
menting, wondering, pitying, and exclaim- 
ing, all in the same breath. From an 
English gentleman whom I had met, I had 



154 A FEW DAYS 

already learned all the particulars that were 
known ; but this lady seized upon me, re* 
peated them all again and again, inter- 
rupting herself with mourning over the 

misfortunes of poor Lady , 

pitying Lady — , rejoicing in 

the victory, wondering at the Duke's 
escape, lamenting for Sir Thomas Picton, 
and declaring, which was incontestably 
true, that she herself was quite distracted. 

In vain did her maid pursue her about 
with a great shawl, which occasionally she 
succeeded in putting upon her shoulders, 
but which invariably fell off again the next 
moment. In vain did another lady, whose 
dress and mind were rather more com- 
posed, endeavour to entice her away — she 
could not be brought to pay them the 
smallest attention, and I left her still talk- 
ing as fast as ever, and standing in this 
curious dishabille among gentlemen and 



-RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 155 

footmen, and officers and soldiers, and 
valets de place ; and in full view of the 
multitudes who thronged the great Place 
de Maire. An express had arrived, soon 
after eight o'clock, from the Duke of Wel- 
lington to Lady , with a 

bulletin dated Waterloo, containing a brief 
account of the glorious battle. But from 
private letters and accounts we learnt that 
the triumph of the British arms had indeed 
been complete. After a most dreadful 
and sanguinary battle, which lasted from 
ten in the morning till nine at night, the 
French at length gave way and fled in con- 
fusion from the field, leaving behind them 
their artillery, their baggage, their wounded 
and their prisoners. The certainty of this 
great, this glorious victory, won by the 
heroic valour of our countrymen in cir- 
cumstances so disadvantageous ; the fall of 
the enemy of Britain and of mankind ; the 



156 



A FEW DAYS 



deliverance of Europe; the peace of the 
world, and, above all, the glory of England, 
rushed into my mind ; and every indivi- 
dual interest, every personal consideration, 
every other thought and feeling were swal- 
lowed up and forgotten. 

The contest had been dreadful — the car- 
nage unexampled in the bloodiest annals 
of history. The French army had been 
nearly annihilated, and our loss was tre- 
mendous. The greatest part of our gallant 
army, the best, the bravest of our officers 
were among the killed and wounded. Sir 
Colin Halket, Generals Cooke and Alten, 
Sir Dennis Pack, the Prince of Orange, 
Lord Uxbridge, and Lord Fitzroy Somer- 
set were severely wounded. Sir Thomas 
Picton, Sir William Ponsonby, Sir Alex^ 
ander Gordon were killed. Sir William 
de Lancey had also been killed by a can- 
non ball while in absolute contact with the 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 157 

Duke, whose escapes seemed to have been 
almost miraculous. Unmindful, perhaps 
.even unconscious, of the showers of shot 
and shell, he had stood undaunted from 
morning till night in the thickest of the 
battle, coolly reconnoitring with his glass 
the motions of the enemy, issuing his or- 
ders with the utmost precision, and every- 
where present by his promptitude, coolness 
and presence of mind. Almost all his 
staff officers were either killed or wounded. 

Lady shewed us the official 

bulletin; it contained a most brief and 
modest account of the victory, announcing 
scarcely any particulars, and mentioning 
the names only of a very few of the prin- 
cipal officers who were among the sufferers. 
In a few hours the town was crowded 
with the wounded. The regular hospitals 
were soon filled, and barracks, churches, 
and convents, were converted into tempo- 



158 A PEW DAYS 

rary hospitals with all possible expedition. 
Tents were pitched in a large piece of open 
ground near the citadel, and numbers of 
these unfortunate sufferers were carried 
there : but nothing could contain the mul- 
titude of wounded who continually entered 
the town. Numbers were lying on the 
hard pavement of the streets, and on the 
steps of the houses ; and numbers were 
wandering about in search of a place of 
shelter. Nothing affected me more than 
the quiet fortitude and uncomplaining pa- 
tience with which these poor men bore 
their sufferings. Not a word, not a mur- 
mur, not a groan escaped their lips. They 
lajr extended on their backs in the long 
waggons, their clothes stained with blood, 
' blinded by the intolerable rays of the sun, 
in silent suffering; while every jolt of the 
waggons seemed to go to one's very heart. 
Numbers on foot, almost sinking with fa- 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 159 

tigue and loss of blood, were slowly and 
painfully making their way along the 
streets. Officers supported on their horses* 
and almost insensible, with faces pale as 
death and marked with agony, and those 
dreadful litters, whose very appearance 
bespoke torture and death, were passing 
through every street. 

Never shall I forget the impression that 
the sight of my poor wounded countrymen 
made upon my mind. When I saw their 
sufferings, and thought of their deeds in 
arms, of their dauntless intrepidity in the 
field, and of the immortal glory they had 
won ; tears of pity, admiration, and grati- 
tude burst from my heart, and I looked at 
the meanest soldier returning, covered with 
wounds, from fighting the battles of his 
country, with a respect and admiration, 
which not all the kings and princes of the 
earth could have extorted from me. 



160 A FEW DAYS 

If such were the horrors of the scene 
here, what must they be on the field of 
battle, covered with thousands of the dead, 
the wounded and the dying! The idea 
was almost too dreadful for human endu- 
rance ; and yet there were those of my own 
country, and even of my own sex, whom I 
heard express a longing wish to visit this 
very morning the fatal field of Waterloo ! 
If, by visiting that dreadful scene of glory 
and of death, I could have saved the life, 
or assuaged the pangs, of one single indi- 
vidual who had fallen for his country, 
gladly would I have braved its horrors; 
but for the gratification of an idle, a bar- 
barous curiosity, to gaze upon the mangled 
corpses of thousands; to hear the deep 
groans of agony, and witness the last 
struggles of the departing spirit — No ! 
worlds should not have bribed me to have 
encountered the sight : the consolation of 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. l6l 

being useful, alone could have armed one 
with courage to have witnessed it. No- 
thing could exceed the humanity and kind- 
ness of the Belgic people to those poor 
sufferers who now crowded the streets. 
Unsolicited they took them into their 
own houses ; sent bedding to the hospitals ; 
resigned their own rooms to their use; 
provided them with every comfort, and 
administered to their wants as if they had 
been their own sons. One old lady alone, 
who was the sole inhabitant of a large 
house, refused to take in two wounded offi- 
cers; the Commandant, on hearing of this, 
immediately billeted six private soldiers 
upon her. But, notwithstanding the praise- 
worthy activity and exertion which were 
used to accommodate them, it was long, 
long indeed, before they could all be taken 
care of. We grieved that we had no house 
to shelter them, and no power to give them 

M 



162 A FEW DAYS 

any essential relief. Money was to them 
as useless as the lump of gold to Robin- 
son Crusoe in his desert island : we could 
not act by them the part of the good 
Samaritan, nor could we, like the heroines 
of the days of chivalry, bind up and dress 
their wounds, for in our ignorance we 
should only have injured them, and the 
most stupid hospital mate could perform 
that office a thousand times better than the 
finest lady. 

Numbers of poor wounded Highlanders 
were patiently sitting in the streets, shaded 
from the powerful rays of the sun. We 
had a good deal of conversation with seve- 
ral of the privates of the 42d and 92d re- 
giments, and their account of the battle was 
most simple and interesting. They seemed 
not to have the smallest pride in what they 
had done ; but to consider it quite as amatter 
of course; they uttered not the smallest 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 163 

complaint, but rather made light of their 
sufferings, and there was nothing in their 
words or manner that looked as if they 
were sensible of having done any thing in 
the least praiseworthy; nothing that laid 
claim to pity, admiration, or glory. The 
carnage among the French, both on the 
16th and 18th, in their encounter with the 
Highland regiments, was described to us as 
most dreadful. The cuirassiers, men and 
officers, horses and riders, were rolled 
in death, one upon another, after the Bri- 
tish charge with the bayonet. In vain the 
French returned to the attack with furious 
valour and reinforced numbers. Their ut- 
most efforts could make no impression on 
the impenetrable spiked wall of the British 
embattled bayonets ; and when they retired 
from the ineffectual attack, the brave High- 
landers, with loud cries of " Scotland fol- 
der !" rushed among them, bore down all 
m 2 



164 A FEW DAYS 

resistance, and scattered their legions like 
withered leaves before the blast of au- 
tumn. 

It is but justice to these gallant men to 
say, that it was not from themselves we 
heard this relation of their own deeds. 
They could not be induced to speak of 
what they had done, but it was repeated 
on every side ; it was the theme of every 
tongue* The love and admiration of the 
whole Belgic people for the Highlanders 
are most remarkable. Whenever they heard 
them mentioned they exclaimed, " Ah ! 
ces braves hommes ! ces bons Ecossais ! 
ils sont si doux — et si aimables — et dans 
la guerre ! — ah ! mon Dieu ! comme ils 
sont terribles Y* They never speak of them 
without some epithet of affection or admi- 
ration. Their merits are the darling topic 
of their private circles, and their figures 
the favourite signs of their public houses : 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 165 

in short they are the best of soldiers and 
of men according to the Belgians — nothing 
was ever like them, and the idea they have 
of their valour is quite prodigious. But 
the sufferings of the wounded was not the 
only affecting sight that Antwerp presented. 
The deep, the distracting grief of the un- 
fortunate people whose friends had pe- 
rished, and the heart-rending anxiety of 
those who vainly sought for intelligence of 
the fate of those most dear to them, were 
amongst the most distressing parts of the 
many mournful scenes we witnessed. Of 
those friends for whose safety we were 
deeply solicitous, we could gain no in- 
formation, and the suspense, dreadful as it 
was, we, as well as thousands, were obliged 
to endure. But our anxiety, our sor- 
rows, seemed light indeed in comparison 
with those of others : there were few who 
had not some near friend or relative. 
u 3 



166 A FEW DAYS 

to deplore, and Antwerp was filled with 
heart-broken mourners, whom the victory 
of yesterday had bereft of all that made 
life dear to them. In the same hotel with 

us was poor Lady , a young 

and widowed bride, upon whom, in all the 
hopes of happiness — in the very flower of 
youth — unacquainted with sorrow, and far 
from every friend, the heaviest stroke of 
affliction had fallen unprepared. But 
three little days ago, she seemed to be at 
the summit of felicity, and now she was 
bereaved of every earthly hope. She 
bore the intelligence of her irreparable loss^ 
with astonishing firmness. I did not won- 
der that she refused to see every human 
being, for no earthly power could speak 
consolation to misery such as hers. In 
rain I tried to forget her — I could not 
banish her from my remembrance; and 
often, during our long wanderings in the 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 16? 

distant regions of Holland, when I was 
far from her, and far from all that might 
have recalled her to my remembrance, 
among other sights and other scenes, her 
early misfortunes wrung my heart with 
the deepest sorrow. 

But whatever might be the grief and 
anxiety of individuals, the universal joy 
was unbounded. It is impossible to de- 
scribe the effects of this victory upon all 
ranks of people. Every human heart 
seemed to beat in sympathy ; every coun- 
tenance beamed with joy; every tongue 
spoke the language of exultation. As the 
terror and despair of the Belgians had been 
excessive, their transport was now vehe- 
ment and overflowing, and their volubility 
not to be imagined. We went into several 
shops, and the people, unable to restrain 
themselves, poured out upon us the fulness 
of their joy, their astonishment, their gra- 
in 4 



168 A FEW DAYS 

titude, their admiration, and their praise. 
Totally forgetful of their interests, they 
thought not of selling their goods ; they 
thought of nothing — they could do nothing 
but talk of the battle and the British, and 
it was with difficulty we could get them to 
shew us what we wanted : nay, more than 
once we were actually obliged to go away 
without doing any thing, from the impos- 
sibility of making them attend to the busir 
ness of selling and buying. 

But sometimes the expression of their 
feelings was so simple, so natural, and so 
touching, and there was so niuch of truth 
and naivete, both in their manner and 
their words, that it was impossible to hear 
them without emotion. The French they 
loaded with execrations ; and their hatred, 
their indignation, and their bitter feelings 
of their wrongs, said more than volumes 
of eloquence, or even facts could have 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 169 

done, in condemnation of the conduct of 
their late masters. All the English mer- 
chandize, and all colonial produce, im- 
ported even before it was decreed to be a 
crime, were seized, carried from their shops 
and warehouses, and burnt before their 
eyes in the Place Verte. No remuneration, 
no indemnity whatever was given them ; 
and by this single act of wanton tyranny, 
hundreds of industrious families were re- 
duced to beggary. Heavy exactions and 
continual contributions were levied, and 
the weight of these fell upon the most 
industrious and respectable orders of the 
people, w All that we had they took," 
was said again and again to us, " and if 
we had had thousands more, it would have 
all gone." They ruined the commerce, 
the manufactures, the trade of the country, 
and then they drained the poor inhabitants 
of their property. They shut up the 



170 A FEW DAYS 

sources of wealth, and then called on them 
for money. They blocked up the foun- 
tain, and then asked for its waters. Like 
Egyptian task-masters, they took from 
them the materials, and then demanded 
their work. They expected them to make 
" bricks without straw/' The French sol- 
diers lived at free-quarters upon the people, 
and the Belgic youths were marched away 
to fight in foreign wars. The oppressed 
people were subject to the unrestrained 
rapine and brutal insolence of the French 
soldiery, of which they durst not complain. 
It was unsafe even to murmur. Not only 
the liberty of the press, but the liberty of 
speech was denied them. Any unfortunate 
person convicted of holding intercourse 
with England was imprisoned, and some 
of them, (we were told,) by way of example, 
were shot. 

We happened to go into a little station- 



KESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 171 

er's shop, kept by a widow and her three 
daughters, who received us almost with 
adoration because we were English. They 
all began to talk at once, and relieved their 
minds by pouring out a torrent of invec- 
tives against those detested tyrants, " ces 
fleaux du genre humain," as they called 
them. All their goods had been seized; 
their shop (which was not then a stationer's) 
completely stripped of its contents, under 
the pretence of its being filled with British 
and colonial produce, which they said 
was not the case; and a considerable 
quantity of continental manufactures had 
also been carried away. — " But that was 
nothing/' the poor mother said, as she 
wiped the tears from her eyes, " that she 
could have borne, for though it seemed 
heavy at the time, she thought less of it 
now ; — but her five sons, (fine handsome 
young men, they were, as ever a mother 



172 A FEW DAYS 

bore,) her five sons were all taken for 
soldiers, and perished in the French wars ; 
some in the retreat from Russia, and some 
in the subsequent campaign in Germany." 
The tears streamed down the cheeks of one 
of these young women, as she spoke to me 
of her " poor brothers/' I can give no 
idea of the bitterness, the rancour, the 
hatred, and above all, the volubility of 
the abuse which these poor women poured 
out against the French. 

We got away from them with difficulty ; 
and though the deep sense of their own 
wrongs rankled in their minds, and aggra- 
vated the resentment and detestation which 
they must naturally feel towards the 
authors of so much misery, yet we found 
the same sentiments, in greater or in less 
degree, among all the Belgians with whom 
we conversed, or whom we heard con- 
versing. I had always understood that the 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 173 

French (and Napoleon in particular) were 
highly popular in Antwerp, but from some 
most respectable old-established merchants, 
both British and Belgic, we learnt that the 
inhabitants were decidedly hostile to the 
French, and that they were both feared and 
hated by all, excepting the very dregs of 
society, and those individuals who had 
made fortunes under their administration. 
In the course of our rambles we had 
many conversations with various people 
whom we never saw before, and I suppose 
shall never see again. We met a wounded 
officer who had been taken prisoner by the 
French. He said, that after repeatedly 
threatening to kill him, and loading him 
with abuse, they actually knocked him on 
the head with the butt end of a musket, 
and left him for dead upon the field ; he 
came, however, to himself, and effected 
his escape. His face was most frightfully 



174 A FEW DAYS 

swelled, and so bruised, that it was every 
shade of black, and blue, and green ; his 
head was entirely tied up with white hand- 
kerchiefs and bloody bandages, and in my 
life I never saw a more battered object. 
He had his arm in a sling; but he was by 
much too rejoiced at his escape to care 
about his wounds or bruises. He told us, 
what then I could scarcely believe, that the 
French had killed many of our- officers 
whom they had taken prisoners, and that 
they had piked numbers of the w r ounded. 
The truth of these brutal murders, dis- 
graceful to humanity, and even more 
dishonourable and more barbarous than 
the worst cruelty of savages, were unhap- 
pily, afterwards, too indisputably proved. 
In our progress through the streets we 
could not resist stopping to speak to such 
of the poor wounded soldiers as seemed 
able to talk, and who looked as if the/ 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 175 

would thank us even for a word of kind- 
ness, much to the amazement of Mr. , 

an Antwerp merchant, who was walking 
about with us, to " shew us the lions/' as 
he said. However, he waited most pa- 
tiently, while Mrs. , S , and 

I talked to ensigns, Serjeants, corporals, 
and common soldiers, who were all, more 
or less, wounded or disabled. 

" We have got six of those wounded 

soldiers billeted upon us/' said Mr. 9 

as we walked on, " but I must get them 
boarded out somewhere, for they would be 
very troublesome in the house/' " Trou- 
blesome \" I exclaimed. " Yes ! you know 
they would be very troublesome in a house, 
though I suppose the surgeons will look 
after their wounds, and all that ; they will 
cost me" (I forget how many guelders he 
said) " a week, but I would rather pay it," 
with a strong and proud emphasis upon 



176 A FEW DAYS 

the word pay) " than have them in the 
house, it would be so very disagreeable/" 

I was silent, for I durst not trust myself 
to speak. Yet this was a very well-mean- 
ing man. I make no doubt he subscribed 
handsomely to the Waterloo fund, and that 
he would have given money to those very 
wounded soldiers to whom he refused 
shelter — if he had thought they wanted it- 
But beyond giving money his ideas of 
charity did not extend. To his mercan- 
tile mind, money was the chief and only 
good — the sole source of pride and of 
happiness — the only object in life worth 
seeking after — the one thing needful. He 
was a very good kind of man in his way, 
but he was entirely occupied with his 
" snug box" at Clapham, his brother's 
grand potteries in Staffordshire, and his 
own cargoes of rice, and hogsheads of 
rum and sugar ; he could not feel the vast 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 177 

debt of gratitude their country owed to 
" the men of Waterloo f to those gallant 
soldiers who had fought and bled for her 
safety and glory. He did not mean to be 
unkind or ungenerous ; he would have 
started at the reproach of wanting huma- 
nity, or being deficient in gratitude, but — 
but — but — in short he was an Antwerp 
merchant. 

The day was extremely hot, and on the 
outside of the Cafes, beneath the shade of 
awnings, and seated beside little tables in 
the open street, the Belgic gentlemen were 
eating ices and fruit, and drinking coffee, 
and reading " L/Oracle de Bruxelles," and 
playing at domino and backgammon with 
the utmost composure, utterly regardless 
of the crowds of passengers, and apparently 
as much at their ease as if they were in 
their own houses, — or indeed more so ; for 
the Belgians, like the French, are more at 

N 



178 A FEW BAYS 

home at le Cafe, or in the public streets* 
or any where, than in their own home, 
which is the last place in which they think 
of looking for enjoyment. They have no 
notion of domestic comfort, domestic plea- 
sure, or domestic happiness ; and conse- 
quently they cannot have much knowledge 
of domestic virtues. I cannot, therefore, 
help considering the French as a gay, rather 
than a happy nation. French habits and 
manners, and, I am afraid, French morals, 
are universally prevalent throughout Bel- 
gium. Groups of ladies of the most re- 
spectable character may every where be 
seen, sitting on chairs or benches, in the 
public streets or promenades, working, 
talking, laughing, and amusing themselves 
with all the ease and gaiety and sangfroid 
in the world. Sometimes only a knot of 
ladies, but more frequently ladies coquet- 
ting with their obsequious beaux. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 179 

We visited the unfinished Quay, begun 
by Napoleon, which was to have extended 
above a mile along the broad and deep 
Scheldt, and would have been one of the 
finest quays in Europe. We saw the Fly- 
ing Bridge, (" Le Pont Volant/') a most 
ingenious contrivance, on which carriages, 
horses, and waggons pass with great rapi- 
dity and security from one side of the river 
to the other, without interrupting its navi- 
gation, even for vessels of the largest 
burden. Such a plan, I should think, 
might be adopted with great success upon 
the Thames between London and Graves- 
end, or in any river where the arches of a 
stone bridge would obstruct the passage of 
the ships, and where the breadth is too great 
for the single span of an iron bridge. The 
mechanism seemed to be very simple, but 
I do not understand it well enough to ex- 
plain it. The largest ships of war can 

N 2 



180 A FEW DAYS 

come up close to the Quay ; but the navi- 
gation of the Scheldt is difficult, and even 
dangerous, from the number of sand banks 
which choke it up. Antwerp is upwards 
of fifty miles from the mouth of the river. 

We saw the Docks, the offspring of 
Napoleon's hatred against our country; 
one of them was made sufficiently large 
and deep to be capable of containing the 
greatest part of the British navy, and at 
one time he exulted in the expectation of 
seeing the " Wooden Walls" of Old England 
safely moored in his docks at Antwerp. 
Little did he anticipate the day when the 
little army of England, which he despised 
and ridiculed, should be the unmolested 
possessors of his capital of Paris ! 

The Arsenal (la Maison de Marine) is 
now emptied of its stores, and deserted by 
its workmen. We saw a long building 
erected by Napoleon for the manufacture 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 181 

of ropes for ships — now equally useless. 
Its length is precisely the same as that of 
the cable of a first-rate British ship of war. 
The manner in which they repair ships in 
these docks is unlike any thing I ever saw 
before, and by those who are conversant in 
such matters it is considered superior to 
the plan followed in England. Instead of 
lifting the ship entirely out of water and 
placing it upon the stocks, (in effecting 
which, or in relaunching it, a vessel is said 
often to sustain injury,) a rope is attached 
to the masts, and the ship is hauled down 
until its keel is exposed; after repairing 
that side they haul it down on the other in 
the same manner, and the workmen stand 
upon a raft that is fastened to its side. 

We went to see the Citadel, a noble 
and complete fortification overlooking the 
Scheldt. The walls are of such an im- 
mense height and thickness, that I should 
n 3 



182 A FEW DAYS 

imagine them to be quite invulnerable. 
The fortress is capable of containing 
10,000 men; by means of the river, 
fresh reinforcements might be constantly 
thrown in ; and with a strong garrison, 
and an adequate supply of provisions and 
ammunition, I should suppose, that like 
another Troy, it might stand a ten years' 
siege ; only that modern patience would 
never hold out such a length of time. 

The Commandant was confined to his 
bed by indisposition ; but every part of the 
fortification was explained to us by a very 
good humoured, intelligent Irish officer, 
whose name I have forgot, but who seemed 
to be excessively amused by the (I fear) 
almost childish delight which my sister 
and I betrayed in seeing all the wonders 
of this wonderful place. Every thing to 
us was new and interesting. It was the 
first citadel we had ever seen : and to see 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 183 

with our own eyes, a real, actual citadel ; 
nay, more, to be in one, was so very de- 
lightful, that we both agreed, if we had 
seen nothing else, we should have thought 
ourselves amply repaid for our journey to 
Antwerp. 

This good natured officer contentedly 
toiled along with us, under the burning 
rays of a most sultry sun, round the whole 
fortifications, and pointed out to us where 
and how attacks might be made with suc- 
cess, and in what manner they could be 
resisted. The sight of the moat, the draw- 
bridges, the ramparts, the bastions, and the 
dungeons ; the sally-ports and gates, which 
communicate with the Citadel from the 
moat by long subterranean passages, so 
forcibly recalled to my recollection all that 
I had heard and read of battles and sieges 
in history and in tales of chivalry, that I 
could have fancied myself transported back 

n 4 



184 A FEW DAYS 

into ages long since past, into the iron 
times of arms; and all that had before 
only existed in imagination was at once 
realized. 

After visiting all the lions of Antwerp, 
docks and fortresses ; and ships and statues, 
and pictures and prisons ; and quays and 
cathedrals ; and battle-beaten walls and 
flying bridges ; and decayed monasteries, 
and modern arsenals ; which, as they have 
all been often so much better described 
than I can describe them, I shall forbear 
to describe at all, we returned to the hotel, 
excessively heated, and tired, and very 
glad to sit down to rest. To-day, for the 
first time since our arrival, we began to 
have serious thoughts of getting some din- 
ner. We might have eaten something 
during those days of alarm and agitation, 
and I suppose we did ; but, excepting the 
breakfast we had got upon the stairs at 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 185 

Brussels on Saturday, I have not the most 
distant recollection of ever having eaten at 
all. 

Upon the necessity and expediency of 
now dining, however, we were all unani- 
mously agreed : the difficulty was how to 

achieve it. Mr. and Mrs. had a 

pigeon-hole for their only habitation, in 
which it would have been perfectly impos- 
sible to have introduced a table ; a single 
chair was all it was capable of containing. 
In our rooms we had some difficulty in 
turning round when more than one person 
at a time was in them; but by dint of 
sitting out of the window, and against the 
door, and upon all the boxes, we had inge- 
niously succeeded in getting some break- 
fast — but to dine was perfectly impractica- 
ble. There happened, however, to be in 

this, very hotel, a Captain , an idle, 

not a fighting, captain ; one who made his 



186 A FEW DAYS 

campaigns, not at Waterloo, but in Bond 

Street ; and this Captain , who had 

been in Antwerp long before the com- 
mencement of hostilities, had, luckily for 
us, got possession of a room in which it 
was possible to move. He was a New- 
market friend of Mr. *s who intro- 
duced him to us, with the recommendation, 
that he was a young man of fashion and 
fortune, well known about town; and in 

Captain h room and company, Mr. 

and Mrs. — , S , J , and I 

accordingly dined ; we were also favoured 
with the company of a particular friend of 

his, a Mr. . Many foolish young 

men it has been my lot to see, but never 
did I meet with any whose folly was at all 

comparable to that of Captain . 

Captain was a young man who 

prided himself upon his knowledge of 
horse flesh, and who had, by Ms own ac- 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 187 

count, been jockied out of " many a cool 
thousand" by his ignorance of it ; he was 
a young man who delighted in building 
more new invented carriages in one year 
than he could pay for in twenty ; he was a 
young man who prided himself upon bor- 
rowing money from Jews at 15 per cent, 
while his guardians were saving it for him 
at 5 ; and in squandering it at Newmarket 
while they thought him poring over Greek 
and mathematics at Cambridge ; he was a 
young man, whose highest pride consisted 
in driving four in hand " knowingly;" 
whose greatest ambition was to resemble a 
stage coachman exactly, and whose dis- 
tinguishing characteristic was that of being 
a most egregious fool. 

In consequence, I suppose, of a perse- 
verance in this laudable career, Captain 

— now found it more convenient to 

play the fool upon the continent than in 



188 A FEW DAYS 

England. After recounting to us various 
and manifold deeds of folly committed in 
London and Newmarket, amongst Jews 
and Whip Clubs, he at length gravely as- 
serted, " that it was impossible for any 
man to dress under seven hundred a year/' 

This piece of information was received 
by some of the party with equal amaze- 
ment and incredulity : but Captain 

assured us " 'Pon his soul it was true; 
that he knew as well as any man, what it 
was to dress, and that it could not be done 
for less than seven hundred a year — nay, 
that it often costs nine/' 

" And pray, Captain 9 " said I, 

involuntarily glancing at his coat, which 
happened not to be by any means a new 
one, " do you spend nine hundred a year 
upon dress?" " Oh! not now" he ex- 
claimed; " I don't dress now; I never 
dressed but eighteen months in my life/* 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 189 

He then explained at large to me, who, in 
my ignorance, had not understood what to 
dress meant, " that ' to dress' signified to 
be the first in fashion, to make it the study 
of one's life to appear in a new mode 
before any body else; ' to sport' some- 
thing new every day ; and during the time 
he dressed," he said " his tailor sent him 
down three boxes of clothes every week, 
from town, wherever he might happen to 
be." Having thus satisfactorily proved, 
that, at a considerable expense to his 
pocket, he had turned himself into a sort 
of block for the tailors to attire in their 
new invented coats and waistcoats, like 
the wooden dolls the milliners dress up to 
set off their new fashions, he next poured 
out such a quantity of nonsense about 
the battle and the wounded, that he re- 
minded me of Hotspur's account of his 



190 A FEW DAYS 

interview with a coxcomb of the same 
species : 

" When the fight was done," 



But why do I waste a word upon him. 

A Scotch acquaintance, Mr. of 

, arrived this evening from the field, 

where he had been ineffectually engaged in 
the soul-harrowing employment of search- 
ing among the dead, the wounded, and the 
dying, for his youngest brother, who was 
no where to be found. He was a gallant- 
spirited youth of eighteen, and this was his 
first campaign. His horse had returned 
without his rider — among the multitude of 
wounded he could not be found. Some 
hopes, some faint hopes, yet remained that 
he might have been taken prisoner, and 
that he might yet appear ; but there was 
too much reason to fear that he had pe- 
rished, though where or how was unknown. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 191 

Alas! every passing day made the hopes 
of his friends more and more improbable. 
No tidings were ever heard of him, and 
" on earth he was seen no more." The un- 
certainty in which the fate of this lamented 
young man was involved was even more 
dreadful than the knowledge of the worst 

could have been. Mrs. 's anxiety 

respecting her brother was relieved by 

Mr. *s assurance of his being in 

perfect safety. He could tell us nothing 
of the fate of those for whom we were so 
deeply anxious. " Do not ask me/' he 
exclaimed, " who is wounded, — I cannot 
tell you. It would be easy to say who are 
not." Intelligence from another quarter, 
however, relieved our fears, and although 
it subsequently proved false, for the pre- 
sent it led us to believe that our friend was 
in safety. 

We now learnt that the battle had been 



192 A FEW DAtS 

even more desperate, and the victory more 
glorious and decisive, than Lord Welling- 
ton's concise and modest bulletin had led 
us to imagine. The French had not " re- 
treated," they had been completely routed 
and put to flight; they had not merely 
" been defeated," they were no longer an 
army. They had fled in every direction 
from the field, pursued by the victorious 
British and by the Prussians, who had not 
come up till just at the close of the battle. 
The whole of their artillery, ammunition, 
and baggage, their caissons, all the materiel 
of their army had been taken. Of 130,000 
men, who had marched yesterday morn- 
ing to battle, flushed with all the hopes 
and confidence of victory, no trace, no 
vestige now remained ; they were all swept 
away ; they were scattered by the whirl- 
wind of war over the face of the earth. 
Yesterday their proud hosts had spread 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 193 

terror and dismay through nations, and 
struck consternation into every heart, ex- 
cept those of the brave band of warriors 
who opposed them. To-day the greater 
part of them slept in death, the rest were 
fugitives or captives. It was an awful, a 
tremendous lesson. They were gone with 
all their imperfections on their heads, — 
their hopes, their purposes, their plans, their 
passions, and their crimes, were at rest for 
ever ! And their leader, who had spoiled 
away the lives of thousands, with feelings 
untouched by remorse; who had impiously 
presumed to defy the powers of God and 
man ; and whose insatiate ambition the 
world itself seemed too small to contain — 
where was he now? — an outcast and a 
wanderer, hunted, pursued, beset on all 
sides, and at a loss where to lay his head ! 

It was with a heart pierced with an- 
guish, that I wept for the brave who had 

o 



194 A FEW! DAYS 

fallen ; that I felt in the bitterness of sor- 
row, that not even the proud triumph of 
my country's glory could console me for 
the gallant hearts that were lost to her for 
ever ! 

" How many mothers shall lament their sons ; 
How many widows weep their husbands slain ! — 
Ye dames of Albion ! e'en for you I mourn : 
Who, sadly sitting on the sea-beat shore, 
Long look for lords who never shall return !" 

It was twelve o'clock before the 



left us, and then, worn out with fatigue of 
body and mind, for the first time during 
four nights, I enjoyed the blessing of some 
hours of undisturbed repose, in spite of 
the bonfires, the acclamations, the noisy 
rejoicings, and the songs, more patriotic 
than melodious, which resounded in my 
ears. Last night the streets were filled 
with the cries of horror and alarm, to-night 
they resounded with the shouts of exulta- 
tion and joy ; and it was with feelings of 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 195 

deep and fervent thanksgiving to Heaven 
that I laid my wearied head upon the 
pillow, and sank to sleep with the blessed 
consciousness that we should not this 
night be disturbed by the dreadful alarms 
of war. 

Nothing on retrospection seemed to me 
so extraordinary as the shortness of time 
in which these wonderful events had hap- 
pened. I could scarcely convince myself 
that they had actually been comprized in 
the short space of three days, — so long did 
it seem to be ! Yet in that brief space 
how many battles had been lost and won 
— how many gallant spirits had death 
arrested in their glorious career of honour 
and immortality — how many hearts had 
grief rendered desolate ! In these eventful 
days the fates of empires and of kings had 
been decided, and the trembling nations of 
Europe freed from the vengeance and the 

o 2 



196 A FEW DAYS 

yoke of the tyranny which menaced them 
with subjugation. 

If the passage of time were to be com- 
puted by the succession of events, rather 
than by moments, we should indeed have 
lived a life-time ! an age ! for it was " eter- 
nity of thought/' Every thing that had 
happened, even immediately before these 
events, seemed like the faintly-remembered 
traces of a dream, or the fading and distant 
images of long past years. It seemed as if 
at once 

" From the tablet of my memory 
Were wiped away all trivial fond records, 
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, 
That youth and observation copied there; 
And this remembrance all alone remain'd, 
Within the book and volume of my brain, 
Unmixt with baser matter." 

Yes ! the days, the months, the years of 
my future life may pass away and be for- 
gotten, and all the changes that mark them 
fade like a morning dream ; but the minutest 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 197 

circumstance of these eventful days must 
be remembered " while Memory holds her 
seat f for such moments and such feelings 
in life can never return more. 

A fortnight elapsed which we passed in 
making the tour of Holland; in gliding 
along its slow canals, visiting its populous 
cities, gazing at its splendid palaces, 
yawning over its green ditches, wondering 
at its great dykes, its prodigious sluices, 
and its innumerable windmills; admiring 
its clean houses, laughing at the humours 
of its fairs, and falling fast aleep in its 
churches. 

We found the Dutch a plain, plodding, 
pains-taking, well-meaning, money-getting, 
matter-of-fact people; very dull and drowsy, 
and slow and stupid ; little addicted to 
talking, but very much given to smoking ; 
but withal pious and charitable and just 
and equitable; with no wit, but some 

o 3 



198 A FEW DAYS 

humour; with little fancy, genius, or in- 
vention, — but much patience, perseverance, 
and punctuality. They make excellent 
merchants, but very bad companions. 
What Buonaparte once in his ignorance 
said of the English, is truly applicable 
to the Dutch, — " They are a nation of 
shopkeepers;" and they used to remind 
me very much of a whole people of 
Quakers. In dress, in manners, in ap- 
pearance, and in habits of life, they pre- 
cisely resemble that worthy sect ; and like 
them, in all these points they are perfectly 
stationary. It is singular enough that in 
all matters of taste and fashion, in which 
other nations are continually varying, the 
Dutch have stood stock still for at least 
two centuries; and in political opinions 
and institutions, which it requires years, 
and even ages, to alter in other countries, 
the Dutch have veered about without 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 199 

ceasing. They have literally changed their 
form of government much oftener than the 
cut of their coats. The}' have had Stadt- 
holders, and Revolutions, and Republics, 
and Despotisms, and Tyrants, and limited 
Monarchies ; and new Dynasties and old ; 
and the " New Code Napoleon," — and 
the newer Code of King William : and they 
have changed from the side of England to 
that of France, and from France to that of 
England, — and from the House of Orange 
to Buonaparte, and from Buonaparte to 
the House of Orange, with a rapidity and 
versatility which even their volatile neigh- 
bours, the French, could not equal. 

But while their government, their laws, 
their sovereigns, and their institutions, 
have undergone every possible transforma- 
tion — the fashion of their caps and bonnets, 
their hats and shoebuckles, remains un- 
changed ; and they have adhered, with the 

o 4 



200 A YEW DAYS 

most scrupulous exactitude, to the same 
forms of politeness, the same hours, dresses, 
manners, and habits of life that were the 
fashion among the venerable Burgomasters 
in the days of good King William. Cer- 
tainly if Solomon had ever lived in Holland 
he never would have said that " the fashion 
of this world passeth away/' for there it 
lasts from generation to generation. 

I should think that the Dutch are now 
very like what the English were in the 
times of the Puritans. They have a great 
deal of rigidity and vulgarity in their ap- 
pearance, and of coarseness and grossierete 
in their manners ; and they are wholly 
destitute of vivacity, refinement, and " the 
grace that charms/' I speak of the people 
at large; not of the Court nor of the 
courtly, who in every country are much 
the same, or at least fashioned upon one 
model ; but, excepting the Court, there is 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 201 

no polite circle, no general good society. 
It is the rarest thing in the world to meet 
with a gentleman in Holland. The Dutch 
are equally devoid of that acquired good- 
breeding which distinguishes the well edu- 
cated English, and that native politeness 
and winning courtesy which is so irresistibly 
engaging among the French and the Belgic 
people. 

I did not think any thing could have 
roused the phlegmatic Dutch to such 
energy and vehement animation as they 
shewed in their ardent attachment to the 
present government, and their detestation 
of their former tyrants. They are abso- 
lutely enthusiastic in their loyalty to the 
House of Orange ; and their implacable 
and virulent hatred to the French surpasses 
all conception. They cannot be silent 
upon this subject ; they cannot forget their 
past sufferings, and the tyranny and cruelty 



502 A FEW DAYS 

which they endured so long. They never 
utter their names without bitter execrations, 
and the very language is become unpopular. 
But the British they look upon with the 
highest respect and admiration, and treat 
them with a blunt, coarse, complimentary 
sort of kindness, which is flattering to our 
national pride. 

The Dutch, however, allowed that Louis 
Buonaparte was a very well-intentioned, 
good-hearted man ; but he was only an 
instrument in the hands of the " Great 
Napoleon ;" and, though he did not like to 
crush them, he had no power to mitigate 
the tyranny which bowed them to the 
earth. For Napoleon himself, — his minis- 
ters, his soldiers, his edicts, and the system 
of plunder, oppression, and slavery which 
constituted his government,— no words are 
strong enough to speak their abhorrence. 
They are now most completely an unani- 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 203 

mous people. From the lowest beggar in 
the street to the king upon his throne, one 
common political feeling animates and in- 
spires them. 

The only people who grew rich during 
the reign of the French were the smugglers, 
and some or these men made astonishing 
fortunes by the sale of colonial produce, — 
chiefly coffee and tobacco, and English 
manufactures, which they introduced into 
the kingdom in great quantities, notwith- 
standing all the spies, soldiers, plans, pe- 
nalties, and prohibitions of Buonaparte. 

In the failure of taxes and contributions 
to satisfy his rapacity, he sequestrated a 
large portion of the funds destined for the 
annual repair of the dykes and sluices, 
which in consequence were fast falling to 
decay ; so that had the French government 
lasted much longer, Holland might have 
been no longer a country ; it might physi- 



204 A FEW DAYS 

sically, as well as politically, have ceased to 
exist, and a tide, even more destructive 
than the armies of France, have rolled over 
it and restored it again to the Ocean. 

Sometimes the faint reports of distant 
war roused us during our slumbering pro- 
gress through this soporific country ; and 
Dutch men and Dutch bonnets, and towns 
and palaces, and universities and museums, 
and tulips and hyacinths, and even 
" Orange Boven" itself, were entirely for- 
gotten in the animating and overpowering 
interest of the triumphant progress of the 
British arms, — the final fall of the Usurper 
of France, — and the entrance of the Allied 
Army, led by the Duke of Wellington, 
into the gates of Paris ! 

A sight more affecting than any other 
that Holland contained we frequently wit- 
nessed: — long trackschuyts filled with the 
wounded Dutch soldiers of Waterloo, mu- 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 205 

tilated, disabled, sick and suffering, passed 
us upon the canals, slowly returning to 
their homes. In many of the towns and 
villages of Holland, the hospitals were 
filled with these poor soldiers, to whom the 
inhabitants shewed the most humane and 
praiseworthy kindness and attention. It 
is but justice to the Dutch to state, that 
though their charity began at home it did 
not end there. Every town and village 
made contributions for the wounded Belgic 
and British, as well as for the Dutch, both 
of money and provisions, including plenty 
of butter and cheese, together with an 
enormous supply of ankers of real Hollands, 
which amused me extremely. I am sure 
they sent it out of pure love and kindness, 
anxious, 1 suppose, that the poor wounded 
should have plenty of what they liked best 
themselves ; or perhaps they thought that 
gin, like spermaceti, was " sovereign for an 
inward bruise/' 



206 



A FEW DAYS 



If Ireland be " the country that owes the 
most to Nature and the least to Man/' 
Holland is unquestionably the country 
which owes the most to Man and the least 
to Nature. I bade it farewell without one 
feeling of regret : with as little emotion as 
Voltaire, I could have said — " Adieu! 
Canaux, Canards, Canaille !" — and after 
crossing many a tedious and toilsome ferry, 
and sJowly traversing the trackless and 
sandy desert which separates Bergen-op- 
Zoom from Antwerp, we left Holland, — 
I hope, for ever ! 

Nothing can be imagined more dreary 
than this journey. One wide extended 
desert of barren sand surrounded us as far 
as the eye could reach, in which no trace 
of man, nor beast, nor human habitation 
could be seen. Some bents, thinly scat- 
tered upon the hillocks of sand, and occa- 
sional groups of stunted fir, through which 
the winds sighed mournfully, were the only 



RESIDENCE IK BELGIUM. 207 

signs of vegetation. Slowly and heavily 
the horses dragged our cabriolet through 
these deep sands, choosing their own path 
as their own sagacity, or that of their driver, 
directed. Quitting at last this solitary 
waste, we entered the sheltering copse 
woods of oak which surround the city of 
Antwerp, drove swiftly by neat cottages 
and smiling gardens, descried with delight 
its lofty walls, its frowning fortifications, 
and the spire of the Cathedral, whose 
beauty we could now admire ; and with 
feelings which may be better conceived 
than described, we once more entered its 
gates. — But what a change had one fort- 
night produced ! It did not seem to be 
the same place or the same people; and 
when I thought of all the quick varying 
scenes of horror, consternation, and triumph 
which we had witnessed here, and remem- 
bered that within these walls we had 



208 A FEW DAYS 

trembled for the safety, and mourned the 
imaginary defeat of that army who were 
now victorious in the capital of France ; 
when I recalled all that the heroes of my 
country had done and dared and suffered 
for her honour and security and peace, — 
and that to them, under Heaven, Europe 
owed its salvation, — it was difficult, it was 
nearly impossible to restrain the strong tide 
of mingled emotions which at this moment 
swelled my heart. — Not for worlds, not to 
have been the first and greatest in another 
land, would I have resigned the distinction 
of calling England my country ; and I 
blessed heaven that I was born an Eng- 
lishwoman, and born in this, the proudest 
era of British glory. 

As these reflexions rapidly passed through 
my mind, a Highland soldier obstructed our 
passage with his musket, signifying to the 
driver, that he was to go at a foof s pace 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 209 

past a large building, which we now dis- 
covered to be an hospital, and before 
which the street was thickly laid with 
straw. We were affected with this proof 
of the attention and care paid to the 
wounded, still more so when we after- 
wards learnt that this hospital was full of 
wounded French. The Highland soldier 
who now stood on guard to prevent the 
smallest noise from disturbing the repose 
of his enemies, had himself been wounded 
— wounded in the action with them. It 
was a noble, a divine instance of gene- 
rosity, it was returning good for evil. It 
was worthy of England. The French 
soldiers had inhumanlv murdered their 
wounded prisoners. The British not only 
dressed the wounds and attended to all 
the wants of their's, but they protected and 
watched over them, that even their ver}^ 
slumbers might not be disturbed. 



210 A FEW DAYS 

At the hotel of Le Grand Laboureui^ 
they knew and welcomed us again, and 
testified great joy at the success of the 
Allies since we had seen them, and a great 
dread lest Napoleon should make his 
escape. In the streets we met numbers of 
poor wounded British officers, weak, pale, 
faint, and emaciated, slowly and painfully 
moving a few yards to taste the freshness 
of the summer and the blessed beams of 
heaven. 

Many fine young men had lost their 
limbs, many were on crutches, many were 
supported by their wives or by their ser- 
vants. At the open windows of the houses, 
propped up by pillows, some poor unfor- 
tunate sufferers were lying, whose looks 
would have moved a heart of stone to pity. 
We passed several hospitals, and looked 
into some of them. The cleanliness and 
neatness of appearance which they ex- 
hibited were truly gratifying. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 211 

Antwerp was filled with wounded; In 
every corner we met numbers of conva- 
lescent soldiers and officers, some of whom 
looked well; but the sufferings we saw, 
and heard of, were far too dreadful to re- 
late, and in many cases death would have 
been a blessed relief from a state of hope- 
less torture. Several vessels had already 
sailed, filled with convalescent wounded, 
for England. 

Most of the wounded French, the 
wretched survivors of Buonaparte's im- 
perial army were here. But what con- 
solation had they to support them on 
the bed of pain and sickness? What 
glory awaited them when they returned to 
their native country ? What was their re- 
compense for their valour, their sufferings, 
their services, and their dangers ? — Broken 
health, and blighted hopes, and ruined for- 
tunes, and blasted fame, were all they had 

p 2- 



c 21% A FEW DAYS 

to look to. They had not fought and bled 
for their country, but for a leader who had 
basely deserted them. Surrounded by 
these bleeding victims of a tyrant's ungo- 
vernable ambition, I felt the truth that in- 
spired the poet's lines 

" Unblest is the blood that for tyrants is squandered, 
And Fame has no wreath for the brow of the slave." 

And what British heart would not ex- 
claim with him — 

u But hail to thee, Albion, who meet'st the commotion 
Of Europe, as firm as thy cliffs meet the foam, 
With no bond but the law, and no slave but the ocean — < 
Hail, Temple of Liberty ! thou art my home !" 

The night soon closed in upon us, and 
we could see the wounded no more. We 
went to rest, and enjoyed a. night of more 
calm repose than it had ever yet been our 
lot to experience in Antwerp. 

With what different feelings, and under 
what different circumstances did I open 
my eyes oji this Sunday morning, to those 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 213 

which we suffered on the dreadful morning 
of Sunday the 18th of June, which we had 
spent here before ! Then horror and de- 
spair filled the minds of the people — then 
they were lamenting the imaginary de- 
struction of that army for whose success 
they were now offering up thanks — for this 
was the Kennesgevin, or day of thanks- 
giving, for the glorious victory of Waterloo. 
We attended high mass at the Cathedral, 
as we had done before,— but with sensa- 
tions how different! and if at that awful 
moment my prayers ascended to heaven, 
to crown with victory and glory the arms 
of my country, the deep and fervent emo- 
tions of gratitude, which filled my heart, 
were now offered up in thanksgiving to the 
throne of divine mercy. The anxiety, the 
misery, that I had endured when I was be- 
fore within these aisles was too poignant to 
be easily forgotten ; but that remembrance 

p3 



214 A FEW DAYS 

made me feel more deeply the blessings 
which heaven had bestowed upon us. 

Mass being over, we ascended by 640 
steps to the top of the tower, or rather of 
the staircase, of the Cathedral, for its ut-. 
most pinnacle is accessible only to the 
winged inhabitants of air : but as we were 
not furnished with wings, we were obliged 
to content ourselves, instead of soaring 
higher, with gazing upon the magnificent 
prospect that lay below us. The men 
and women flocking out of the churches 
through the streets, looked exactly like a 
colony of ants swarming on the gravel 
walks of a garden in a sunny day : the 
streets and houses looked like the mi- 
niature model of a town in pasteboard; 
and the majestic Scheldt like a long ribbon 
streaming through a measureless tract of 
country. 

However, the view was both various and 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 215 

beautiful. Far as the eye could reach, 
the rich fields and woods of Flanders, with 
its populous villages, its lofty spires, and 
noble canals lay extended around us, pre- 
senting a striking contrast to the cold, 
bare, triste, watery flats of Holland, which 
were fresh in our remembrance, and Flan- 
ders, no doubt, looked doubly beautiful 
from the recent comparison. 

We distinctly saw the fortifications of 
Bergen-op-Zoom on one side, and the 
steeple of Vilvorde on the other. We 
traced the Scheldt winding its course 
through a rich country down towards the 
ocean. Upon its broad bosom lay the 
vessels waving with the flag; of Britain, 
and destined to carry home the troops who 
had so bravely fought and bled in her ser- 
vice, and for her glory. 

When I thought of the dreadful waste of 
human life and sufferings which the battle 

p 4 



216 A FEW DAYS 

of Waterloo had cost the world, it almost 
seemed as if had been dearly purchased : 
yet in frequent indecisive battles, and in 
long protracted campaigns, more blood 
might have been shed, without the 
same glorious or important results. In 
one great day, years of bloodshed and 
of toil had been saved. In one tre- 
mendous burst of thunder the war had 
ended, and the lightnings of heaven in 
that vengeful hour had descended upon the 
head of the guilty. The dark cloud which 
menaced Europe had passed away, and 
the prospect was now calm, bright, and 
unclouded. The blood of Britons had 
indeed flowed, but it had flowed in a noble 
cause, and it had not flowed in vain. It 
had secured present peace and security to 
the world, and it had left to future ages 
the proudest monument of British fame. 
But I forget that I am all this time upon 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 217 

the top of Antwerp Cathedral — it is high 
time to descend from my altitude. When 
we once more reached this earth, we went 
to see a sort of religious puppet-show, called 
Mount Calvary. It had been " got up" 
with great care and cost, and must have 
required a world of labour ; for there were 
artificial rocks and caverns, and heaven and 
hell into the bargain ; and it was altogether 
a most edifying spectacle. There were the 
Crucifixion, and the Virgin Mary, and St. 
Paul, and St. Peter, — and I dare say all 
the rest of the Apostles, and at least fifty 
more holy persons, who were most likely 
saints, all as large as life, and made of 
white stone. There were also red-hot 
flaming furnaces of purgatory, filled with 
figures of the same materials ; with this 
difference, that they were making horrible 
grimaces. There were also the Sepul- 
chre and the Angel; and our friend 



^18 A FEW DAYS 

Mr. — , (the Antwerp merchant,) who 

took us to see this show, was in an extasy 
with it, and declared that all the paintings 
in the world were not to be compared to 
it, — nay, that he did actually think that it 
was almost as well worth seeing as St. 
Paul's or the Monument ; — but this he as- 
serted more cautiously. 

We visited the tomb of Rubens, with 
more veneration than we had paid to the 
shrines of all the saints. The people of 
Antwerp almost adore the memory of this 
great artist. He w T as descended from one 
of the most ancient families in Flanders ; 
of noble birth and of splendid fortune. 
Antwerp was the place of his birth and of 
his death, and his spirit still seems to hover 
over it ; for never did I witness a passion 
for paintings, and a knowledge of the art, 
so universally diffused among all classes, 
as in this town. All the merchants, and even 



UESIDENCE IN .BELGIUM. 219 

the petty shopkeepers and tradespeople, 
have good paintings, both of the Flemish 
and Italian school. In every house they 
may be seen ; and in every street even the 
lowest of the people may be heard to can- 
vass their merits. They still lament over 
the loss of the fine paintings which were 
carried from the churches by the French ; 
and they seemed particularly to grieve for 
their celebrated Altar-piece, the pride of 
their city, which was taken from them. 
They petitioned and implored Buonaparte 
with so much importunity and perseve- 
rance to restore to them this idol of their 
affections, that he at last promised it 
should be sent back. In process of time, 
and in conformity with his imperial word, 
there arrived the celebrated altar-piece of 
f the Descent from the Cross," correctly 
copied from the original by a modern 
French artist. The immortal touches of 



%20 A FEW DAYS 

Rubens were not there. The fraud was in- 
stantly discovered, and the people were 
indignant at this mockery of restitution. 
They told us they intended immediately to 
send deputies to Paris to claim this and the 
other treasures of which they had been 
despoiled, and which now adorn the 
Louvre. 

There are some very fine private cabinets 
of pictures in Antwerp, which are opened 
to strangers with all that alacrity and po- 
liteness which in England, in such cases, 
we are so lamentably and notoriously defi- 
cient in. In one of these we saw the 
celebrated Chapeau Pale of Rubens. I 
was disappointed in it; probably from 
having had my expectations too highly 
raised by hearing its beauties extravagantly 
extolled. In fact the subject does not 
call forth any great powers either of 
genius or execution. It is simply the por- 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 221 

trait of a handsome woman with a very 
attractive countenance, and dressed in a, 
very becoming grey beaver hat and feather ; 
and both the lady and her hat are most 
beautifully painted. We saw some land- 
scapes by Rubens, some of which were 
very fine. There is no branch of painting 
which the versatile genius of this wonderful 
man did not lead him to attempt, and none 
in which he did not succeed. His Scriptural 
and historical paintings, upon which rests 
his fame ; his allegories, portraits, and land- 
scapes, are well known : but I have seen a 
miniature picture of his performance, beau- 
tifully finished, — a piece of fruit and 
flowers, very well executed, though in an 
uncommon style, — and lastly, an interior, 
not a servile copy of Teniers, Ostade, or 
Gerard Douw, but marked with his own 
characteristic originality of manner and 



222 A FEW DAYS 

expression. This last piece is in the pos- 
session of a Flemish gentleman at Ghent. 

At Antwerp we saw some beautiful land- 
scapes by Asselins and Dietrichsen ; a 
very fine Holy Family by Morillo ; and the 
Death of Abel by Guido. The whole 
figure of Abel prostrate on the earth, but 
especially the touching, the more than hu- 
man expression of his face as he looks up 
at his brother and his murderer, is one of 
the finest things I ever beheld in painting. 
It is in that upward look of pathetic sup- 
plication and unutterable feeling that Guido 
is unrivalled — it is his characteristic ex- 
cellence. We saw some very fine paintings 
both by Italian and Flemish artists, but 
the fascination of the former, in spite of 
myself, riveted my eyes upon their never- 
satiating beauties. It is impossible not to 
feel the decided superiority of the Italian 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 2%3 

over the Flemish school of painting, in 
force, delicacy, and dignity of expression ; 
in the power of transposing soul into paint- 
ing, if I may so express myself, and in all 
that constitutes the greatness, and the sub- 
limity of the art. But the Flemish artists 
laboured under great natural disadvantages. 
They did not live beneath the brilliant sky 
that sheds its tints of beauty over the hap- 
pier climates of Italy and Provence ; they 
did not dwell in the enchanting vales and 
sunny mountains, or gaze upon the ca- 
verned rocks and romantic solitudes which 
formed and perfected the genius of a Claude 
Lorraine, Vernet, Salvator Rosa, and 
Poussin. Fate threw Berghem and Both, 
and Cuyp, under unkinder skies, and 
amidst less picturesque scenes ; but in ge- 
nius they are perhaps equal, if not superior, 
to the French and Italian masters. Nor 
were Rubens, Rembrandt, Teniers, and 



'224 A FEW DAYS 

many of the Flemish artists, inferior to any 
in conception and execution, in originality, 
in invention, in truth of expression, and all 
the natural and acquired powers which 
constitute the perfection of the painter's 
art. And if the Italian artists, if Guido, 
Raphael, Biionarotti, Carlo Dolce, and 
Correggio, possess a pathos and sublimity, 
a force, a grace, and an undefinable charm 
of expression, which makes their works 
unequalled on earth, — let it be remembered 
that the Flemish artists did not, like them, 
wake to life amidst the beauty and the 
harmony of nature ; they were not sur- 
rounded by faces and forms of speaking, 
moving expression, — of heavenly sublimity 
and soul-subduing tenderness. The " hu- 
man face divine" was not moulded of the 
finer elements of beauty and of grace. — - 
Painting is an imitative art. The world 
which Nature had spread before them they 






RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 225 

copied ; but they could not create a new 
one. They were driven to seek in the 
habitations of men for the sources of that 
interest which the scenes of nature denied 
them; and their powerful and original 
genius, seizing upon the materials which 
surrounded them, formed for itself a new 
and distinct school. They were most 
faithful copies of Nature. It is impossible 
to travel through Belgium and Holland 
and not notice at every step the landscapes 
of Hobbima, the Interiors of Ostade and 
Gerard Douw; the faces, figures, and 
humorous scenes which Teniers has exhi- 
bited so often to our view; and to recog- 
nize at every turn the fat and fair, and 
well fed and well clad beauties of F. 
Mieres. But the paintings and the painters 
of Italy and Flanders have led me far from 
my travels. To return to Antwerp : 

After the bright-painted, well-scoured, 
Q 



226 A FEW DAYS 

baby-house looking towns of Holland, the 
streets of Antwerp appeared very grand 
and magnificent, but extremely dirty. 
Remarking this to an English, or rather an 
Irish officer, he laughed, and said they were 
beautifully clean in comparison of the state 
in which the British troops found them 
when they first came to the garrison. Their 
complaints of the filthiness and unwhole- 
someness of the town produced no effect ; 
and to their representations of the necessity 
of cleaning it, the Magistrates answered, 
with offended dignity, that " the city of 
Antwerp was clean/' The British Com- 
mandant then ordered our soldiers to sweep 
the streets, and to pile up all the dirt 
against the houses of those Magistrates who 
with so much pertinacity maintained that 
the city of Antwerp was clean ! The 
mountains of dirt collected by the soldiers 
in one morning blocked up the windows, 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 227 

and it was with difficulty that the Magistrates 
could get out of their doors. When they 
did, however, they immediately bestirred 
themselves, convinced by more senses than 
one that the city of Antwerp was not clean ; 
and they have taken due care ever since 
that the streets shall be regularly swept. 

The churches in Antwerp w r ere once 
extremely rich in silver shrines, images, 
ornaments, gold plate, and precious stones ; 
but these treasures, the Belgians said, had 
been carried off by Buonaparte : upon 
more strict inquiry, we found that these 
alleged robberies of Napoleon le Grand 
had been committed eighteen years ago, 
most probably ,by the sacrilegious hands 
of the Jacobin Revolutionists, who would 
leave little or nothing for imperial plunder. 
On my remarking this to one of the Bel- 
gians, he said, with a shrug of the shoul- 
der, " Ah ! c'est egal — ces gens-la etoient 
q 2 



228 A FEW DAYS 

tous les memes — les coquins ! — " but what- 
ever mischief has been done, they always 
lay it upon Buonaparte, whom they hate 
with a bitterness surpassing all conception. 

The journey betwixt Antwerp and Brus- 
sels was quite new to us. The anxiety and 
agitation of mind which we had suffered 
on the day we left Brussels for Antwerp, 
had so completely engrossed every faculty, 
diat the scenery on the way had not made 
the smallest impression on us. The ob- 
jects of living interest, with which the road 
was then crowded, had alone fixed our at- 
tention. I could scarcely believe that I 
had ever travelled this road before, or ever 
seen the towns and villages through which 
we had so lately passed. 

I beheld the same harvest, which I then 
feared would be reaped in blood, ripening, 
to crown the hopes of the husbandman, 
beneath the blessing of heaven. My eye 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 22Q 

now rested with delight upon the corn 
fields, waving in rich luxuriance, the deep 
verdure of the meadows, and the lofty 
woods which diversified the prospect : — the 
peaceful and prosperous appearance of 
the country, and the contented, gladsome 
faces, of the people, as they stood at their 
cottage-doors, " gay in their Sunday ''tire/' 
presented a happy contrast to the terrors 
and sufferings we had witnessed, and 
the still more dreadful and multiplied 
horrors which then seemed ready to burst 
upon this devoted country. 

We entered Malines ; but I did not re- 
tain the smallest recollection of it until we 
again reached the inn. From the inn- 
window I well remembered sorrowfully 
gazing into the market-place below, and 
contemplating the train of baggage-wag- 
gons, the confusion of English carriages, 
the parties of troops advancing, the 

Q3 



230 A FEW DAYS 

wounded soldiers returning, and the af- 
frighted countenances of the poor Belgic 
peasantry, crowding together in dismay, 
with which it was then filled. Now I be- 
held a very different scene : — a crowd of 
Belgians, indeed, filled the market-place, 
but it was a joyous, not a trembling crowd. 
The people were all amusing themselves 
after their own fashion. Some flocking to 
the Church ; others gazing at a wonderful 
puppet-show, which was stationed at the 
very door ; others listening to a Belgic bal- 
lad-singer, who was roaring out, in no very 
harmonious strains, the downfall of Napo- 
leon, and the warlike prowess of the Bel- 
gians ; and others were talking and laugh- 
ing with most noisy glee. The sounds of 
innocent mirth and pious gratitude were 
indeed a blessed contrast to the terrors and 
anxiety we had before witnessed here. 
The Kennesgevin, or thanksgiving, for 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 231 

the victory, and for the deliverance of the 
country, had been celebrated, and one 
priest mounting the pulpit after another, 
continued to preach a succession of homi- 
lies to the people, who might listen to as 
many or as few of them, as their piety or 
their taste dictated. We saw a young 
priest mount the pulpit, and some of the 
congregation, who had been assembled 
during the sermon of his predecessor, re- 
mained to hear him. He preached in the 
Belgic language, therefore we could not 
understand him ; his discourse was appa- 
rently extempore, and accompanied with 
much ungraceful gesticulation. In distant 
parts of the Church, before the shrine of 
many a saint, numbers of pious votaries 
of both sexes were kneeling in silence; 
engaged in their private earnest devotions, 
without attending at all to the lectures of 
the priest, or being disturbed by those 
q 4 



232 A FEW DAYS 

who, like us, were wandering up and down 
the long-drawn aisles and decorated cha- 
pels of this ancient Cathedral. 

There is a perpetual going in and out, 
and moving backwards and forwards, du- 
ring the whole service of the Catholic 
Church abroad. The people, as soon as 
they have finished their own prayers, walk 
off without ceremony, and are succeeded 
by others; which in a Protestant church 
we should think a most scandalous pro- 
ceeding; and indeed the service of the 
Catholic Church itself, both in England 
and in Ireland, is conducted in a very dif- 
ferent manner. It is a common practice 
here, as well as in France and Italy, for 
strangers to walk about and examine the 
churches, paintings, &c. when the Mass is 
performing ; nor does it seem to annoy the 
congregation in the least. 

The Roman Catholic seems to be the 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 233 

exclusive religion of Belgium ; no other 
form of worship or religious persuasion 
seems to have any proselytes; indeed it 
is only in consequence of a law enacted 
since the present King ascended the throne, 
that* other religions have been tolerated. 
The Belgians are very pious, and even bi- 
goted ; but they are not gloomy, they are 
lively bigots ; apparently without a doubt 
to disturb the fullness of their faith ; strict in 
their observances, gay in their lives, happy 
in the consolation their religion gives them 
here, and in its promises hereafter. Com- 
paring their character with that of their 
unbelieving neighbours, the French, I have 
no hesitation in preferring bigotry to infi- 
delity. Even the extreme of superstition 
is better than the horrors of irreligion and 
atheism. 

The Church of Malines is a fine old 
structure: the towers (for there are two) 
seem to have been built at an earlier pe- 



234 A FEW DAYS 

riod than the body. We were astonished 
at the magnificence of the interior. Its 
magnitude, its antiquity, its lofty arches, its 
massy pillars, its rich altars, its sculptured 
figures, and its carved confessionals, have a 
very imposing effect ; and the large, though 
not fine paintings which adorn its walls, and 
the decorations which piety has profusely 
spread over every part of this vast edifice, 
give it an air of great splendour. Foreign 
churches possess a decided advantage, to 
the eye of the mere spectator, over those of 
England, from being wholly unincumbered 
with pews, which certainly take from the 
grandeur and unity of the whole. 

The pulpit of carved wood in this 
Church is most beautifully executed. It 
was done only a few years ago by a Fle- 
mish artist. There are a few pieces of 
sculpture of ancient date carved in wood 
in basso relievo, and painted white, which 
I admired extremely. The expression 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 235 

given to some of the figures and faces is 
•quite astonishing. 

We passed through Vilvorde, half-way 
to Brussels, where there is a strong Maison 
deforce for the imprisonment and employ- 
ment of criminals. At the little inn where 
we had before baited our horses, we stop- 
ped once more for the same purpose. The 
garcon remembered us immediately, and 
with a countenance of great glee, express- 
ed his delight to see us again, and de- 
scribed most vividly the distress they had 
experienced, and all the rapid and dread- 
ful alarms that succeeded to each other. 
He then reminded us of our parting pro- 
phecy, that the Allies would be victorious, 
and that the French would never more 
penetrate into Flanders, and he said, he 
had often thought of it since ; and that it 
had proved true, for they had indeed seen 
no French, except les Francois blesses. 



236 A FEW DAYS 

We proceeded on our journey through a 
country still improving in beauty. Sloping 
grounds, and woods and lawns, and 
country seats and pleasure grounds, and 
meadows covered with the richest verdure, 
greeted our eyes as we advanced to Brus- 
sels. We met and passed several of the 
Diligences; tremendous machines in size, 
and slowness, not unlike the vehicles which 
in England are used for the conveyance of 
wild beasts from one* town to another. 
They were filled with an innumerable 
motley multitude, some of which were 
playing upon the fiddle, others singing, 
and all merry making, as they jogged 
along. The road was much cut up with 
the passage of commissariat-waggons, long 
trains of which we frequently met upon the 
way. 

We drew near to Brussels, and traversed 
the .margin of that calm and quiet canal, 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 237 

which, when w r e left it, had presented a 
scene of such horrid confusion ; and as we 
approached Lacken we looked up at it 
once more, but with very different feelings 
to those with which we had gazed at it 
when we had passed it before, and recol- 
lected the boast Napoleon had made the 
preceding day, — " To-morrow I shall sleep 
at Lacken/' It was from hence that his 
premature pompous declarations to the 
Belgic people were dated, announcing 
victory ; which were even found ready 
printed in his carriage at Charleroi, after 
his defeat and flight on the 18th of June. 

We entered a sort of wood. On each 
side of us, upon the grass and beneath the 
shade of the trees, there was a large en- 
campment of tents, men, horses, w aggons, 
huts, and arms ; with all the accompani- 
ments and confusion attendant upon such 
an establishment. It formed, however, a 



238 A FEW DAYS 

picturesque and animated scene ; fires were 
burning, suppers cooking, men sleeping, 
children playing, women scolding, horses 
grazing, and waggons loading ; while long 
carts and artillery were drawn up beneath 
the trees ; parties of Flemish drivers sitting 
on the ground round the fires, drinking and 
smoking; and people moving to and fro 
in every direction. This encampment be- 
longed to the Commissariat department. 

We passed the Allee Verte, usually the 
fashionable promenade for carriages on 
Sunday evening ; but though this was 
Sunday evening, it was entirely deserted. 
The inhabitants of Brussels had not yet 
perhaps resumed their habits of gaiety, 
and in fact the iUlee Verte was nearly im^ 
passable, owing to the heavy rains and the 
immense passage of military carriages 
upon it. 

We entered Brussels about the same 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 23§ 

hour that we had entered it for the first 
time. Then, the British military were 
crowding every street ; standing at every 
corner; leaning out of every window, in 
the full vigour of youth and hope and ex- 
pectation : then, they were gaily talking 
and laughing, unconscious that to many it 
was the last night of their lives. Now, 
Brussels was filled with the wounded. It 
is impossible to describe with what emo- 
tions we read the words " Militaries blesses" 
marked upon every door ; " un, deux, trois, 
quatre," even " huit Qfficiers blesses/' were 
written upon the houses in white chalk, 
As we slowly passed along, at every open 
window we saw the wounded, " languid 
and pale, the ghosts of what they were/' 
In the Pare, which had presented so gay 
a scene on the night of our arrival, crowded 
with military men, and with fashionable 
women, a few officers, lame, disabled, or 



240 A FEW DAYS 

supported on crutches, with their arms in 
slings, or their heads bound up, were now 
only to be seen, slowly loitering in its de- 
serted walks, or languidly reclining on its 
benches. The Place Royale, which we had 
left a dreadful scene of tumult and confu- 
sion, was now quite quiet, and nearly 
empty. It was in all respects a melancholy 
contrast, and it was with saddened hearts 
that we alighted at the Hotel de Flandre, 
where they gladly received us again, and 
talked much of the eventful scenes that 
had followed our departure. 

Colonel , of the Inniskillen Dra- 
goons, was in this hotel. He had been 
severely wounded in five different places ; 
he passed the night after the battle on the 
road between Waterloo and Brussels, which 
was completely blocked up from the exces- 
sive confusion occasioned by the abandoned 
baggage and waggons. Although his life 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 241 

had been despaired of, he was now reco- 
vering, and supposed to be out of danger. 
Some English newspapers, which his ser- 
vant lent to us, were indescribably interest- 
ing to us ; every particular relative to the 
battle, we read, or rather devoured, with 
insatiable avidity. The list of the killed 
and wounded we could not get a sight of 
till the next morning. Secure that none of 
our own friends were contained in it, we 
restrained our impatience and went to rest, 
Little did we know the shock that awaited 
us ! the misery of the following morning, 

when we saw the name of Major 

among the list of severely wounded ; and 
found him at last in a state of extreme 
suffering and danger! the days of deep 
anxiety and individual grief that followed 
I pass over in silence. Nor can I bear to 
dwell upon the miseries it was our lot to 
witness; the still more excruciating and 

R 



242 ,; A FEW DAYS 

hopeless sufferings which we daily heard 
related, and the scenes of death and distract- 
ing affliction which surrounded us. How 
often was the anxious inquiry made with 
trembling eagerness for a wounded friend 
or relation — " Where is he to be found V 
How often, after a few minutes of torturing 
suspense, was the dreadful answer returned 
— " Dead of his wounds !" Numbers of 
the young and the brave, after languishing 
for weeks in hopeless agony, expired during 
our stay in Brussels ; and it happened 
more than once within our own knowledge, 
that the parents, whose earthly hopes of 
happiness were centered in an only son, 
arrived from England to see their wounded 
boy the very day of his decease,— in time 
to gaze upon his insensible and altered 
corpse, and to follow the mortal remains 
of all they loved to the grave. The heart- 
broken countenance, and the silent, motion- 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 243 

less grief of one old man, whom I saw 
under this dreadful affliction, made an im- 
pression on my mind too strong to be easily 
forgotten. Despair seemed to have settled 
upon his soul, but he neither shed a tear, 
nor uttered a complaint. I could not even 
go from the hotel where we stayed to the 
house where Major lodged, with- 
out passing crowded hospitals, filled with 
many hundreds of poor wounded soldiers ; 
and although every attention that skill and 
humanity could suggest to contribute to 
their recovery was paid to them, both by 
the British government and the Belgic 
people, their sufferings were dreadful. 
Many of the British officers died in the 
common hospitals : they had been origi- 
nally conveyed to them, and it was after- 
wards found impossible to remove them. 

At every corner the most pitiable objects 
struck one's eye. I could not pass through 

e 2 



244 A FEW DAYS 

a single street without meeting some unfor- 
tunate being, the very sight of whose suf- 
ferings wrung my heart with anguish. 
Numbers of young officers, in the very 
flower of life and vigour, pale, feeble, and 
emaciated, were slowly dragging along 
their mutilated forms. Upon couches, 
supported by pillows, near the open win- 
dow, numbers lay to enjoy the fresh 
summer air, and divert the sense of pain by 
looking at what passed in the streets. But 
we knew too well, that the sufferings we 
saw were nothing to those we did not see. 
Every house was filled with wounded 
British officers ; and how many, like our 

poor friend Major , were silently 

enduring lingering and excruciating tor- 
ture, unable to raise themselves from the 
couch of pain ! 

Often, as I gazed at the soldier's frequent 
funeral as it passed along, I could not help 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 245 

thinking that, though no eye here was 
moistened with a tear, yet in some remote 
cottage or humble dwelling of my native 
country, the heart of the wife or the mother 
would be wrung with despair for the loss 
of him who was now borne unnoticed to a 
foreign grave. But let me not dwell upon 
these scenes of misery ; their remembrance 
is still too painful — though it can never be 
erased from my mind. 

The whole of our stay in Brussels was 
one unvaried scene of suppressed anxiety 
and watchfulness for the safety of Major 
, whose situation was most criti- 
cal. Our time was spent in his apartment, 
in constant but fruitless endeavours to alle- 
viate his sufferings, which neither skill nor 
care could mitigate, but which he bore 
with the most unshaken fortitude. When 
we had at last the consolation of seeing 
him comparatively better, and felt assured 

rS 



246 -' ""~A FEW DAYS 

that he was out of all immediate danger, 
we dedicated one day to a visit to 
Waterloo* 

On the morning of Saturday the fifteenth 



* The road from Brussels to the field of battle was 
not for some time considered safe, on account of the 
number of deserters who had taken shelter in the woods, 
and issued forth, sometimes alone, and sometimes in a 
gang, to rob passengers and plunder the defenceless 
cottages and farm-houses of the surrounding country. 
Neither property nor life certainly could be considered 
jsafe at the mercy of these armed desperadoes; but I 
never heard of any well-authenticated murder that they 
committed : and from all the inquiries I made, I believe 
that most of the horrible stories we heard of their enor- 
mities were entirely devoid of truth ; and that the mischief, 
even in the way of plunder, they did, was very much ex- 
aggerated. Even at the time we went to the field, great 
apprehensions were entertained by many people of these 
lawless deserters. Large parties of these were brought 
in two or three times a week, during our stay in Brussels. 
They consisted of Belgic, Nassau, and Brunswick 
soldiers. There was some difficulty in procuring proper 
places of confinement for them. They were generally 
sent to the neighbouring Maisons de Force ; what even- 
tually was to be their punishment, or what has been their 
fate, I have never been able to learn. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 247 

of July, we set off to visit the field of the 
ever-memorable and glorious battle of Wa- 
terloo. After passing the ramparts, we 
descended to the pretty little village of 
Ixelles, embosomed in woods and situated 
close to the margin of a still glassy piece 
of water. From thence we ascended a 
steep hill, and immediately entered the 
deep shades of the forest of Soignies, which 
extends about nine miles from Brussels. 
The morning was bright and beautiful ; the 
summer sun sported through the branches 
which met above our heads, and gleamed 
upon the silver trunks of the lofty beech 
trees. On either side woodland roads con- 
tinually struck in various directions through 
the forest; so seldom trodden, that they 
were covered with the brightest verdure. 
At intervals, neat white-washed cottages, 
and little villages by the road side, enli- 
vened the forest scenery. We passed 

r 4 



248 A FEW DAYS 

through " Vividolles," " La Petite Espi- 
nette," " La Grande Espinette," " Longue- 
ville," and several other hamlets whose 
names I have forgotten.* 

Upon the doors of many of the cottages 
we passed, were written in white chalk, 
the names of the officers who had used 
them for temporary quarters on their way 
to the battle ; or who had been carried 
there for shelter in returning, when wound- 
ed and unable to proceed farther. Many 
we knew had died in these miserable 
abodes ; but all, excepting one or two of 
the most severely wounded, had now been 
removed to Brussels. It was impossible to 



# It is remarkable that every village in this part of the 
country has a French name, except Waterloo, which is 
pronounced by the natives, — according to the fashion of 
the London Cocknies, — Vaterloo; the letter W being 
the exclusive property of the British people — with the 
exception of the aforesaid Cocknies, who resign all claim 
to it 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 249 

retrace without emotion the very road by 
which our brave troops had marched out 
to battle, three weeks before, and by which 
thousands had been brought back, covered 
with wounds, in pain and torture. They 
alone of all that gallant army had returned; 
thousands had met a glorious death upon 
the field of battle, and the victorious sur- 
vivors had pursued their onward march to 
the capital of France. 

I could not help asking myself, as we 
proceeded along, what would have been 
the consequences if the French and British 
armies had happened to encounter each 
other in the midst of this forest, instead of 
meeting, as they did, a few miles beyond 
it ? Had our troops been a little later in 
leaving Brussels on the morning of the 16th 
of June, this must inevitably have been the 
case; for it was impossible that the ad- 
vanced guard of Belgic troops, which was 



250 A FEW DAYS 

stationed at the out-post of Quatre Bras, 
could have sustained the attack of the 
French, or have delayed their progress for 
any length of time. But if the hostile ar- 
mies had encountered each other here, it 
would have been impossible that a general 
action could have taken place ; the thick 
entangled underwood makes all entrance 
into the forest impracticable ; and if 
they had attempted to fight, the road 
would soon have been choked up with 
dead. Yet the English, I imagine, would 
not have retreated, since, if they had, they 
must either have abandoned Brussels to 
the enemy, or fought under its very walls ; 
and whether the French would have re- 
treated till they came to open ground, or 
how they would have manoeuvred in such 
a situation, it was impossible for an 
unmilitary head like mine even to form a 
conjecture. During the battle, all the cot- 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 251 

tages and villages by the way-side had been 
deserted by their inhabitants, who fled in 
consternation into the woods, in expecta- 
tion of the victory and immediate advance 
of the French, from whom they looked for 
no mercy. The road had been so dread- 
fully cut up with the heavy rains and the 
incessant travelling upon it, that notwith- 
standing three weeks of summer weather 
had now elapsed since the battle, the 
chaussee in the centre was worn into ruts 
upon the hard pavement, and in many 
places it was still so deep, that the horses 
could scarcely drag us through; the un- 
paved way on each side of the chaussee 
was perfectly impassable. Along the whole 
way, shattered wheels and broken remains 
of waggons still la}r, buried among the 
mud. Their demolition was one of the 
many consequences that resulted from the 
violent panic with which the men who were 



252 A PEW DAYS 

left in charge of the baggage were seized, 
towards the close of the battle. It was 
originally caused, I understood, by the 
Belgic cavalry, great numbers of whom 
fled in the heat of the desperate attack 
made by the French upon our army in 
front of Mont St. Jean before the Prus- 
sians came up. They were rallied and 
brought back by some British officers ; but 
unable to stand the dreadful onset of the 
French, thej r turned about again and fled 
in irretrievable confusion, trampling upon 
the wounded and the dying in their speed, 
and spreading the alarm that the battle 
was lost. With troops less steady, with 
any other troops, in short, than the British, 
the example of flight, joined to such an 
alarm, at this critical moment, might have 
occasioned the loss of the battle in reality. 
The men stationed in the rear in charge of 
the baggage, who knew nothing of what 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. %5S 

was going forward, believed at once the 
report, and, without stopping a moment to 
ascertain its truth, they set off at full speed. 
If the battle was lost, it was clearly their 
business to run away, and they could not 
be accused of neglecting this part of their 
duty. Following the example of the 
Belgians, they all set off full gallop in the 
utmost confusion, pell-mell, along the road 
to Brussels. Nothing is so infectious, no- 
thing so rapid in its progress as fear : the 
panic increased every moment ; the terri- 
fied fugitives overtook the carts filled with 
wounded, and encountered waggons and 
troops, and military supplies coming up to 
the field. It was impossible to pass : the 
road, confined on each side by the thickly 
woven and impenetrable underwood, was 
speedily choked up ; those who were pro- 
ceeding to the army insisted upon going 
one way, and those who were running awaj r 



C 2o4f A FEW DAYS 

from it persisted in going the other. The 
confusion surpassed all description ; till at 
last, amidst the crash of waggons, the im- 
precations of the drivers, and the cries of 
the soldiers, a battle took place, and many 
were the broken heads and bruises, and 
various were the wounds and contusions 
received in this inglorious fray. It is even 
said, and I fear with truth, that some lives 
were lost. The baggage was abandoned and 
scattered along the road ; the waggons were 
thrown one upon another into the woods, 
and over the banks by the road-side ; the 
horses, half-killed, were left to perish ; and 
the wounded were deserted. Over every 
obstacle these panic-struck people, frantic 
with fear, forced their way, and, pursued 
by nothing but their own terrified imagina- 
tions, they arrived at Brussels, proclaiming 
the dreadful news, that the battle was lost, 
and the French advancing! The fearful 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 255 

tidings extended from thence even into 
Holland ; and thus, in consequence of the 
cowardice of some Belgians and baggage- 
men, the last and most dreadful alarm of 
Sunday night was spread over the whole 
country. 

The road, the whole way through the 
forest of Soignies, was marked with vestiges 
of the dreadful scenes which had recently 
taken place upon it. Bones of unburied 
horses, and pieces of broken carts and 
harness were scattered about. At every 
step we met with the remains of some tat- 
tered clothes, which had once been a sol- 
dier's. Shoes, belts, and scabbards, in- 
fantry caps battered to pieces, broken fea- 
thers and Highland bonnets covered with 
mud were strewn along the road-side, or 
thrown among the trees. These mournful 
relics had belonged to the wounded who 
had attempted to crawl from the fatal field, 



256 



A TEW DAYS 



and who> unable to proceed farther, had 
lain down and died upon the ground now 
marked by their graves, — if holes dug by 
the way-side and hardly covered with earth 
deserved that name. The bodies of the 
wounded who died in the waggons on the 
way to Brussels had also been thrown out, 
and hastily interred. 

Thus the road between Waterloo and 
Brussels was one long uninterrupted 
charnel-house : the smell, the whole way 
through the Forest, was extremely of- 
fensive, and in some places scarcely bear- 
able. Deep stagnant pools of red putrid 
water, mingled with mortal remains, 
betrayed the spot where the bodies of 
men and horses had mingled together in 
death. We passed a large cross on the 
left side of the road, which had been 
erected in ancient times to mark the 
place where one human being had been 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 257 

murdered. How many had now sunk 
around it in agony, and breathed, un- 
noticed and unpitied, their dying groans ! 
It was surrounded by many a fresh-made, 
melancholy mound, which had served for 
the soldier's humble grave ; but no monu- 
ment points out to future times the bloody 
spot where they expired, no cross stands to 
implore from the passenger the tribute of 
a tear, or call forth a pious prayer for the 
repose of the departed spirits who here 
perished for their country ! 

The melancholy vestiges of death and 
destruction became more frequent, the 
pools of putrid water more deep, and the 
smell more offensive, as we approached 
Waterloo, which is situated at the distance 
of about three leagues,* or scarcely nine 

# A French league is something less than three English 
miles. It measures two English miles and three quarters. 



258 A FEW DAYS 

miles, from Brussels. Before we left the 
forest, the Church of Waterloo appeared in 
view, at the end of the avenue of trees. It 
is a singular building, much in the form of 
a Chinese temple, and built of red brick. 
On leaving the wood, we passed the 
trampled and deep-marked bivouac, where 
the heavy baggage-waggons, tilted carts, 
and tumbrils had been stationed during the 
battle, and from which they had taken 
flight with such precipitation. 

Even here, cannon-balls had lodged in the 
trees, but had passed over the roofs of the 
cottages. We entered the village which has 
given its name to the most glorious battle 
ever recorded in the annals of history. It 
was the Head-quarters of the British army 
on the nights preceding and following the 
battle. It was here the dispositions for the 
action were made on Saturday afternoon. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 259 

It was here on Monday morning the dis- 
patches were written, which perhaps con- 
tain the most brief and unassuming account 
a conqueror ever penned, of the most glo- 
rious victory that a conqueror ever won.* 
Waterloo consists of a sort of long, irregu- 
lar street of white-washed cottages, through 
which the road runs. Some of them are 
detached, and some built in rows. A 
small house, with a neat, little, square 
flower-garden before it, on the right hand, 
was pointed out to us as the quarters of 
Lord Uxbridge, and the place where he 
remained after the amputation of his leg, 
until well enough to bear removal. His 
name, and those of " His Grace the Duke 
of Wellington," " His Royal Highness the 
Prince of Orange," and other pompous 

# Caesar's celebrated bulletin, " veni, vidi, vici/' was 
more concise, but not quite so unassuming. 

s 2 



260 A FEW DAYS 

titles, were written on the doors of these 
little thatched cottages. We also read the 
lamented names of Sir Thomas Picton, Sir 
Alexander Gordon, Sir William De Lan- 
cey, Sir William Ponsonby, and many 
others who now sleep in the bed of honour. 
Volumes of sermons and homilies upon the 
instability of human life could not have 
spoken such affecting and convincing elo- 
quence to our hearts as the sight of these 
names, thus traced in chalk, which had 
been more durable than the lives of these 
gallant men. 

After leaving Waterloo, the ground rises : 
the wood, which had opened, again sur- 
rounded us, though in a more straggling 
and irregular manner — and it w r as not till 
we arrived at the little village of Mont St. 
Jean, more than a mile beyond Waterloo, 
that we finally quitted the shade of the 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 26l 

forest, and entered upon the open field 
where the battle had been fought. During 
the whole of the action the rear of the left 
wing of our army rested upon this little 
village, from which the French named the 
battle. We gazed with particular interest 
at a farm-house, at the farthest extremity 
of the village nearest the field, on the left 
side of the road, — with its walls and gates 
and roofs still bearing the vestiges of the 
cannon-balls that had pierced them. Every 
part of this house and offices was filled with 
wounded British officers ; and here Major 

was conveyed in excruciating 

agony, upon an old blanket, supported by 
the bayonets of four of his soldiers. 

On the right we saw at some distance 
the church of Braine la Leude, which was 
in the rear of the extremity of the right 
wing of our army. From the top of the 

s 3 



262 A FEW DAYS 

steeple of this church the battle might have 
been seen more distinctly than from any 
other place, if any one had possessed cool- 
ness and hardihood sufficient to have stood 
the calm spectator of such a scene ; and 
if some cannon-ball had not stopped his 
observations by carrying off his head. 

Alighting from the carriage, which we 
sent back to the barriere of Mont St. Jean, 
we walked past the place where the beaten 
down corn, and the whole appearance of 
the ground, would alone have been sufficient 
to have indicated that it had been the bi- 
vouac of the British army on the tempes- 
tuous night before the battle, when, after 
marching and fighting all day beneath a 
burning sun, they lay all night in this 
swampy piece of ground, under torrents of 
rain. We rapidly hurried on, until our 
progress was arrested by a long line of 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 263 

immense fresh-made graves. We suddenly 
stopped — we stood rooted to the spot — 
we gazed around us in silence; for the 
emotions that at this moment swelled our 
hearts were too deep for utterance — we felt 
that we stood on the field of battle ! 

" And these then are the graves of the 
brave !" at length mournfully exclaimed one 
of the party, after a silence of some minutes, 
hastily wiping away some " natural tears/' 
" Look how they extend all along in front 
of this broken beaten down hedge — what 
tremendous slaughter !" " This is, or ra- 
ther was/' said an officer who was our 
conductor, " the hedge of La Haye Sainte ;* 
the ground in front of it, and the narrow 

* La Haye Sainte, (the holy hedge). It gives its name 
to the farm-house of La Haye Sainte. I could not hear 
from any of the country-people why it was distinguished 
by the epithet " Sainte." They did not seem to have any 
tradition respecting it. 

s4 



264 A FEW BAYS 

lane that runs behind it, were occupied by 
Sir Thomas Picton's division, which formed 
the left wing of the army ; and it was in 
leading forward his men to a glorious and 
successful charge against a furious attack 
made by an immense force of the enemy, 
that this gallant and lamented officer fell. 
He was shot through the head, and died 
instantly without uttering a word or a 
groan !" We gazed at the opposite height, 
or rather bank, upon which the French 
army was posted. We thought of the feel- 
ings with which our gallant soldiers must 
have viewed it, before the action com- 
menced, when it was covered with the 
innumerable legions of France, ranged in 
arms against them. The solemn and por- 
tentous stillness which precedes the burst- 
ing of the tempest, is nothing to the awful 
sublimity of a moment such as this. The 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 265 

threatening columns of that immense army, 
which their valour had now destroyed and 
scattered, were then ready to pour down 
upon them. The cannon taken in the ac- 
tion, which now stood in the field before 
us under the guard of a single British 
soldier, were then turned against them. 

The field-pieces taken by the Prussians 
in the pursuit were not here. But 130 
pieces of cannon belonging to the British, 
and taken by them on the field of battle, 
still remained here. We went to examine 
them ; they were beautiful pieces of ord- 
nance, inscribed with very whimsical 
names, and some of them with the revo- 
lutionary words of Liberte, Egalite, Fra- 
ternite ! Our own artillery, which was 
admirably served, had been principally 
placed in two lines upon the ridge of the 
gentle slope on which our army was sta- 
tioned. About four o'clock in the after- 



c 266 A FEW DAYS 

noon the first line of guns advanced, and 
the second took the place which the first 
had before occupied ; it was also placed 
upon every little eminence over the field, 
and it did great execution amongst the 
enemy's ranks.* 



# An order had been issued not to fire at the enemy's 
field-pieces, but at the troops. However, during the 
latter part of the action, a young officer of artillery, out of 
patience with the destruction caused among his men, and 
particularly with the loss of Captain Bolton, his friend 
and brother officer, from the fire of some guns opposite, 
levelled his cannon at them, and had the satisfaction to 
see the French artillery-men, and officers who commanded 
them, fall in their turn. At that moment he was accosted 
suddenly by the Duke of Wellington, whom he had no 
idea was near, — " What are you firing at there ?" The 
artillery officer confessed what he was about. u Keep a 
good look out to your left," said the Duke, "you will see 
a large body of the enemy advancing just now — fire at 
them." They soon perceived a tremendous number of 
the Imperial Guards, the elite of the army, advancing with 
great order and steadiness to attack the British. The 
moment they appeared in view, the officer to whom the 
Duke had spoken, directed against them such a tremen- 
dous and effective fire, that they were mowed down by 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 26? 

The ground occupied by Sir Thomas 
Picton's division, on the left of the road 
from Brussels, is lower than any other part 
of the British position. It is divided from 
the more elevated ridge where the French 
were posted by a very gentle declivity. 
To the right the ground rises, and the 
hollow irregularly increases, until at Cha- 
teau Hougoumont it becomes a sort of 
small dell or ravine, and the banks are 
both high and steep. But the ground 
occupied by the French is uniformly 
higher and decidedly a stronger position 
than ours. 

Nothing struck me with more surprize 
than the confined space in which this tre- 
mendous battle had been fought ; and this, 
perhaps, in some measure contributed to 

ranks. This gallant young officer had volunteered his 
services, and was one of the brigade attached to the se- 
cond division of our army. 



268 A FEW DAYS 

its sanguinary result. The space which 
divided the two armies from the farm-house 
of La Haye Sainte, which was occupied 
by our troops, to La Belle Alliance, which 
was occupied by theirs, I scarcely think 
would measure three furlongs. Not more 
than half a mile could have intervened 
between the main body of the French and 
English armies : and from the extremity of 
the right to that of the left wing of our 
army, I should suppose to be little more 
than a mile. 

The hedge along which Sir Thomas 
Picton's division was stationed, and 
through which the Scots Greys made their 
glorious and decisive charge at the close 
of the action, is almost the only one in the 
field of battle. The ground is occasionally 
divided by some shallow ditches, and in 
one place there is a sort of low mud dyke, 
which was very much broken and beaten 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 269 

down. This was not on the ground our 
troops occupied, but rather below the 
French position ; and excepting this, the 
whole field of battle is uninclosed. The 
ground is, however, very uneven and broken, 
and the soil a strong clay. It belongs to 
different farmers, and bore crops of different 
kinds of corn ; but it is entirely arable land, 
and excepting a very small piece on the 
French side, none of it was in grass. 

Against the left wing of our army the 
attacks of the French were furious and 
incessant. Buonaparte had stationed op- 
posite to it the chief body of his Corps de 
Reserve, and fresh columns of troops con- 
tinually poured down, without being able 
to make the smallest impression upon the 
firm and impenetrable squares which the 
British regiments formed to receive them. 
It was Buonaparte's object to turn the left 
wing of our army, and cut it off from the 



2?0 A FEW DAYS 

Prussians, with whom a communication 
was maintained through Ohain, and who 
were known (by the Commanders of the 
British army at least) to be advancing.^ 
The Duke expected them to have joined 
before one o'clock, but it was seven before 
they made their appearance. 

On the top of the ridge in front of the 
British position, on the left of the road, 
we traced a long line of tremendous graves, 
or rather pits, into which hundreds of dead 
had been thrown as they had fallen in their 
ranks, without yielding an inch of ground. 
The effluvia which arose from them, 
even beneath the open canopy of heaven, 



* It is, however, a remarkable fact, and does additional 
honour to the resolute, invincible constancy of British 
soldiers, that the greatest part of the officers, and nearly 
the whole of the privates of the British army, were wholly 
ignorant that there was any expectation of the arrival of 
the Prussians. Many of them never knew till after the 
battle was over, that they had joined. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 271 

was horrible ; and the pure west wind 
of summer, as it passed us, seemed 
pestiferous, so deadly was the smell 
that in many places pervaded the field. 
The new turned clay which covered those 
pits betrayed how recent had been their 
formation. From one of them the scanty 
clods of earth which had covered it, had 
in one place fallen, and the skeleton of a 
human face was visible. I turned from 
the spot in indescribable horror, and with 
a sensation of deadly faintness which I 
could scarcely overcome. 

On the opposite side of the road we 
scrambled up a perpendicular bank, 
through which the road had evidently 
been cut. It was upon this eminence that 
the Duke of Wellington stood at the com- 
mencement of the action, surrounded by 
his staff. It was here, we were told, that 
in the most critical part of it, he rallied 



272 A FEW DAYS 

the different regiments, and led them on 
again in person to renew the shock of 
battle. Here we stood some time to survey 
the field. 

Immediately before us, nearly in the 
hollow, was the farm-house of La Haye 
Sainte, surrounded by a quadrangular 
wall, full of holes for musketry. At 
the commencement of the action it was 
occupied by the British, and it formed the 
most advanced post of the left centre of 
our army. It was gallantly and success- 
fully defended by a detachment of the 
light battalion of the German Legion, 
until their ammunition was exhausted ; it 
was impossible to send them a supply, as 
all communication with them was cut off 
by the enemy, who at length succeeded in 
carrying it, after a most obstinate resis- 
tance; but its brave defenders only 
resigned its possession with their lives. 



RESIDENCE Or BELGIUM. 273 

On the opposite side of the road, a little 
behind La Haye Sainte, and immediately 
below the ground occupied by Sir Thomas 
Picton's division, is a quarry which was 
surrounded by British artillery at the com- 
mencement of the battle. Towards the 
close of the action it was filled with the 
wounded, who had taken refuge in it as a 
shelter from the storm of shot and shells, 
and from the charge of the cavalry, — when, 
horrible to relate! a body of French cui- 
rassiers were completely overthrown into 
this quarry by a furious charge of the 
British, and horses and riders were rolled 
in death upon these unfortunate sufferers. 
The ghastly spectacle which it exhibited 
next morning was described to me by an 
eye-witness of this scene of horror. On 
the left, in the hollow between the two 
armies, we saw the hamlet of Ter la Haye, 
which was occupied by British troops: 



274 A FEW DAYS 

— its possession was never disputed by 
the enemy, although it was close advanced 
upon their position. Beyond it, still farther 
to the left, were the woods of Frischer- 
mont, from which the Prussians issued 
through a narrow defile, and advanced to 
attack the right flank of the French. 

These woods bounded the prospect on 
that side. On the right stood the ruins of 
Chateau Hougoumont, (or Chateau Gou- 
mont, as the country-people called it,) 
concealed from view by a small wood 
which crowns the hill. It formed the most 
advanced post of the right centre of our 
army, and it was defended to the last with 
efforts of successful valour almost more 
than human, against the overpowering 
numbers and furious attacks of the enemy. 
The battle commenced here before eleven 
o'clock. The French, suddenly uncover- 
ing a masked battery, opened a tremen- 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 2?5 

dous fire upon this part of our position, 
and advanced to the attack with astonishing 
impetuosity, led on, it is said, by Jerome 
Buonaparte in person, while Napoleon 
viewed it from his station near the Observa- 
tory on the opposite height. They were 
completely repulsed by the bravery of 
General Byng's brigade of Guards, but 
they succeeded in carrying the wood which 
was occupied by the Belgic troops. The 
French, however, after a dreadful struggle, 
were driven out of the wood again by the 
Coldstream and the third regiment of 
Guards, and never afterwards were able to 
regain possession of it. The Black Bruns- 
wickers behaved most gallantly. In re- 
trieving the consequences of the miscon- 
duct of the Belgic troops, and in defending 
the Chateau and the garden, the British 
Guards performed prodigies of valour; 
though they suffered most severely, 

t2 



276 A tfEW DAYS 

Lieutenant-Gen eral Cooke, Major-General 
Byng, Lord Saltoun, the lamented Colonel 
Miller, who died as he had lived— a brave 
and honourable soldier; Captain Adair, 
Captains Evelyn and Ellis ; Colonels 
Askew, Dashwood, and D'Oyley, with 
many others, particularly distinguished 
themselves by their steady gallantry and 
personal valour. The house was consumed 
by fire, and numbers of the wounded perish- 
ed in the flames ; yet the British maintained 
possession of it to the last, in spite of the in- 
cessant and desperate attacks of the enemy, 
who directed against it a furious fire of shot 
and shells, under cover of which large 
bodies of troops advanced continually to 
the assault, and were driven back again 
and again with tremendous slaughter. 
Without the possession of this important 
post, the right flank of our army could not 
be attacked ; it formed what is called the 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 277 

key of the position; from its elevation it 
commanded the whole of the ground oc- 
cupied by our army, and had it been lost, 
the victory to the French would scarcely 
have been doubtful. 

Opposite, but divided from it by a deep 
hollow, were the heights occupied by the 
French, upon which, at some distance, and 
secure from the storm of war, stands the 
Observatory, where Buonaparte stationed 
himself at the beginning of the action, and 
whence he issued his orders, and com- 
manded column after column to advance 
to the charge, and rush upon destruction. 
His " invincible" legions, his invulnerable 
Cuirassiers, in vain assaulted the position 
of the British, with the most furious and 
undaunted resolution. In vain the vast 
tide of battle rolled on — like the rocks of 
their native land, they repelled its rage.— - 



278 A FEW DAYS 

Squares of infantry received the onset of 
the French columns, directed against them 
a steady and uninterrupted fire of mus- 
ketry, and stood unshaken, and unterri- 
fied, beneath the most tremendous showers 
of shot and shell. Every vacancy caused 
by death was instantly filled up : the enemy 
vainly sought for an opening through which 
they might penetrate the indestructible 
phalanx; and when at last they receded 
from the ineffectual attack, the British 
rushed forward, charged them with the 
bayonet, and, notwithstanding their supe- 
riority of numbers, invariably drove them 
back with immense slaughter. But I am 
relating the history of the battle, forgetful 
that I am only describing the field. 

From the spot where we now stood I 
cast my eyes on every side, and saw 
nothing but the dreadful and recent 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 279 

traces of death and devastation. The rich 
harvests of standing corn,* which had co- 
vered the scene of action we were contem- 
plating, had been beaten into the earth, and 
the withered and broken stalks dried in the 
sun, now presented the appearance of 
stubble, though blacker and far more bare 
than any stubble land. 

In many places the excavations made by 
the shells had thrown up the earth all 
around them ; the marks of horses' hoofs, 
that had plunged ancle deep in clay, were 
hardened in the sun ; and the feet of men, 

# In this part of Belgium, wheat generally grows to 
full five feet in height, and rye upwards of six feet : 
great quantities of the latter are grown, for it answers 
to the liberal definition of oats by Dr. Johnson, and is 
the food of men in England, and of horses in Flanders ; 
nay it is actually baked into bread for their use, and 
regularly given them at the inns where they stop to bait. 
Several soldiers of the Highland regiments who had got 
into a field of this gigantic rye on the 16th, were shot 
•without even being able to see their enemy. 

T 4 



280 A FEW BAYS 

deeply stamped into the ground, left traces 
where many a deadly struggle had been. 
The ground was ploughed up in several 
places with the charge of the cavalry, and 
the whole field was literally covered with 
soldiers' caps, shoes, gloves, belts, and 
scabbards, broken feathers battered into 
the mud, remnants of tattered scarlet cloth, 
bits of fur and leather, black stocks and 
havresacs, belonging to the French soldiers, 
buckles, packs of cards, books, and innu- 
merable papers of every description. I 
picked up a volume of Candide ; a few 
sheets of sentimental love-letters, evidently 
belonging to some French novel; and 
many other pages of the same publica- 
tion were flying over the field in much 
too muddy a state to be touched. One 
German Testament, not quite so dirty as 
many that were lying about, I carried 
with me nearly the whole day ;— 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 281 

printed French military returns, muster 
rolls, love letters and washing bills; ille- 
gible songs, scattered sheets of military 
music, epistles without number in praise of 
" FEmpereur, le Grand Napoleon/' and 
filled with the most confident anticipations 
of victory under his command, were strewed 
over the field which had been the scene 
of his defeat. The quantities of letters 
and of blank sheets of dirty writing paper 
were so great that they literally whitened 
the surface of the earth. 

The road to Genappe, descending from 
the front of the British position, where we 
were now standing, passes the farm-house 
of La Haye Sainte, aind ascends the oppo- 
site height, on the summit of which stands 
" La Belle Alliance," which was occupied 
by the French. We walked down the hill 
to La Haye Sainte — its walls and slated 
roofs were shattered and pierced through 



282 A FEW DAYS 

in every direction with cannon shot. We 
could not get admittance into it, for it was 
completely deserted by its inhabitants. 
Three wounded officers of the 42d and 92d 
regiments were standing here to survey the 
scene : they had all of them been wounded 
in the battle of the 16th. One of them 
had lost an arm, another was on crutches, 
and the third seemed to be very ill. Their 
carriage waited for them, as they were 
unable to walk. After some conversation 
with them, we proceeded up the hill to the 
hamlet of La Belle Alliance. The princi- 
pal house on the left side of the road was 
pierced through and through with cannon 
balls, and the offices behind it were a heap 
of dust from the fire of the British artillery. 
Notwithstanding the ruinous state of the 
house, it was filled with inhabitants. Its 
broken walls, " its looped and windowed 
wretchedness," might indeed defend them 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 283 

sufficiently well " from seasons such as 
these/' when the soft breezes and the bright 
beams of summer played around it — but 
against " the pelting of the storm/' it would 
afford them but a sorry shelter. It was im- 
mediately to be repaired; but I rejoiced 
that it yet remained in its dilapidated state. 
The house was filled with vestiges of the 
battle. Cuirasses, helmets, swords, bayo- 
nets, feathers, brass eagles, and crosses of 
the Legion of Honour, were to be pur- 
chased here. The house consisted of three 
rooms, two in front, and a very small one 
behind. On the opposite side of the road 
is a little cottage, forming part of the ham- 
let of La Belle Alliance; and at a short 
distance, by the way side, is another low- 
roofed cottage, which was pointed out to 
us as the place where Buonaparte break- 
fasted on the morning of the battle. 
Farther along this road, but not in sight, 



284 A FEW DAYS 

was the village of Planchenoit, which was 
the head-quarters of the French on the 
night of the 17th * 

We crossed the field from this place to 
Chateau Hougoumont, descending to the 
bottom of the hill, and again ascending 
the opposite side. Part of our way lay 
through clover; but I observed, that the 
corn on the French position was not nearly 
so much beaten down as on the English, 
which might naturally be expected, as they 
attacked us incessantly, and we acted on 
the defensive, until that last, general, and 
decisive charge of our whole army was 
made, before which their's fled in confu- 
sion. In some places patches of corn 
nearly as high as myself were standing. 
Among them I discovered many a for- 
gotten grave, strewed round with melan- 

* Buonaparte slept at the farm of Caillon near 
Planchenoit. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 285 

choly remnants of military attire. While 
I loitered behind the rest of the party, 
searching among the corn for some relics 
worthy of preservation, I beheld a human 
hand, almost reduced to a skeleton, out- 
stretched above the ground, as if it had 
raised itself from the grave. My blood 
ran cold with horror, and for some mo- 
ments I stood rooted to the spot, unable 
to take my eyes from this dreadful object, 
or to move away : as soon as I recovered 
myself, I hastened after my companions, 
who were far before me, and overtook 
them just as they entered the wood of 
Houwumont. Never shall I forget the 
dreadful scene of death and destruction 
which it presented. The broken branches 
were strewed around, the green beech 
leaves fallen before their time, and stripped 
by the storm of war, not by the storm of 



286 



A FEW DAYS 



nature, were scattered over the surface of 
the ground, emblematical of the fate of the 
thousands who had fallen on the same spot 
in the summer of their days. The return 
of spring will dress the wood of Hougou- 
mont once more in vernal beauty, and suc- 
ceeding years will see it flourish : 

H But when shall spring visit the mouldering urn, 
Oh ! when shall it dawn on the night of the grave !" 

The trunks of the trees had been pierced 
in every direction with cannon-balls. In 
some of them, I counted the holes where 
upwards of thirty had lodged: yet they 
still lived, they still bore their verdant 
foliage, and the birds still sang amidst 
their boughs. Beneath their shade, the 
hare-bell and violet were waving their 
slender heads; and the wild raspberry 
at their roots was ripening its fruit. 
I gathered some of it with the bitter 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 287 

reflexion, that amidst the destruction 
of human life these worthless weeds and 
flowers had escaped uninjured. 

Melancholy were the vestiges of death 
that continually met our eyes. The car- 
nage here had indeed been dreadful. 
Amongst the long grass lay remains of 
broken arms, shreds of gold lace, torn 
epaulets, and pieces of cartridges-boxes; 
and upon the tangled branches of the 
brambles fluttered many a tattered rem- 
nant of a soldier's coat. At the outskirts 
of the wood, and around the ruined walls 
of the Chateau, huge piles of human ashes, 
were heaped up, some of which were still 
smoking. The countrymen told us, that so 
great were the numbers of the slain, that it 
was impossible entirely to consume them. 
Pits had been dug, into which they had 
been thrown, but they were obliged to be 
raised far above the surface of the ground. 



288 A FEW DAYS 

These dreadful heaps were covered with 
piles of wood, which were set on fire, so 
that underneath the ashes lay numbers of 
human bodies unconsumed. 

The Chateau itself, the beautiful seat of 
a Belgic gentleman, had been set on fire 
by the explosion of shells during the ac- 
tion, which had completed the destruction 
occasioned by a most furious cannonade. 
Its broken walls and falling roofs presented 
a most melancholy spectacle : not melan- 
choly merely from its being a pile of ruins, 
but from the vestiges it presented of that 
tremendous and recent warfare by which 
those ruins had been caused. Its huge 
blackened beams had fallen in every 
direction upon the crumbling heaps of 
stone and plaster, which were intermixed 
with broken pieces of the marble flags, the 
carved cornices, and the gilded mirrors* 
that once ornamented it, 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 289 

We went into the garden, which had 
sustained comparatively little injury, while 
every thing around it was laid waste. Its 
gay parterres and summer flowers made it 
look like an island in the desert. A ber- 
f eau, or covered walk, ran round it, shaded 
with creeping plants, amongst which ho- 
ney-suckles and jessamines were inter- 
mixed, en treillage. The trees were loaded 
with fruit ; the myrtles and fig trees were 
flourishing in luxuriance, and the scarlet 
geraniums, July flowers, and orange trees, 
were in full blow. My native country can 
boast of no such beauty as bloomed at 
Chateau Hougoumont : its rugged clime 
produces no fruitful fig trees, no flowers 
rich in the fragrance of orange blossom : — 
but it is the land of heroes ! 

" Man is the nobler growth our realms supply, 
And souls are ripened in our northern sky." 

I saw the pure and polished leaves of 
u 



290 A FEW DAYS 

the laurel shining in the sun, and I could 
not restrain my tears at the thought that the 
laurels, the everlasting laurels which Eng- 
land had won upon this spot, were steeped 
in the heart-blood of thousands of her 
brave, her lamented sons. But if not im- 
mortal in their lives, they will be so in 
their fame. — Their laurels will never 
wither ; and no British heart, hencefor- 
ward, will ever visit this hallowed spot 
without paying a tribute of veneration and 
regret to those gallant spirits who here 
fought and fell for their country. 

At the garden gate I found the holster 
of a British officer, entire, but deluged 
with blood. In the inside was the maker's 
name, — Beazley and Hetse, No. 4, Par- 
liament-street. All around were strewed 
torn epaulets, broken scabbards, and sa- 
bretashes stained and stiffened with blood 
— proofs how dreadfully the battle had 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 291 

raged. The garden and courts were lined 
during the engagement with Nassau troops, 
as sharpshooters, who did great execution. 
A poor countryman, with his wife and 
children, inhabited a miserable shed 
amongst these deserted ruins. This unfor- 
tunate family had only fled from the spot 
on the morning of the battle. Their little 
dwelling had been burnt, and all their pro- 
perty had perished in the flames. They 
had scarcely clothes to cover them, and 
were destitute of every thing. Yet the 
poor woman, as she told me the story of 
their distresses, and wept over the baby 
that she clasped to her breast, blessed 
heaven that she had preserved her chil- 
dren. She seemed most grateful for a little 
assistance, took me into her miserable 
habitation, and gave me the broken sword 
of a British officer of infantry, (most pro- 
bably of the Guards,) which was the only 

u 2 



292 A FEW DAYS 

thing she had left ; and which, with some 
other relics before collected, I preserved 
as carefully as if they had been the 
most valuable treasures. 

It is a remarkable circumstance that 
amidst this scene of destruction, and sur- 
rounded on all sides by the shattered walls 
and smoking piles of " this ruined and 
roofless abode," the little chapel belonging 
to the Chateau stood uninjured. Its 
preservation appeared to these simple 
peasants an unquestionable miracle; and 
we felt more inclined to respect than to 
wonder at the superstitious veneration with 
which they regarded it. No shot nor shell 
had penetrated its consecrated walls ; no 
sacrilegious hand had dared to violate its 
humble altar, which was still adorned with 
its ancient ornaments and its customary 
care. A type of that blessed religion to 
which it was consecrated, it stood alone. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 293 

unchanged, amidst the wreck of earthly 
greatness, — as if to speak to our hearts, 
amidst the horrors of the tomb, the 
promises of immortality; and to recall 
our thoughts from the crimes and sorrows 
of earth to the hopes and happiness of 
heaven. The voice of the Divinity himself 
within his holy temple seemed to tell us, that 
those whom we lamented here, and who in 
the discharge of their last and noblest duty 
to their country, had met on the field of 
honour " the death that best becomes the 
brave/' — should receive in another and a 
better world their great reward ! Black- 
ened piles of human ashes surrounded us ; 
but I felt that though " the dust returns 
to the earth, the spirit returns unto Him 
that gave it." 

The countryman led me to one of these 
piles within the gates of the court belong- 
ing to the Chateau, where, he said, the 

v3 



294 A FEW DAYS 

bodies of the British Guardsmen who 
had so gallantly defended it, had been 
burnt as they had been found, heaped 
in death. I took some of the ashes 
and wrapped them up in one of the 
many sheets of paper that were strewed 
around me; perhaps those heaps that 
then blackened the surface of this scene 
of desolation are already scattered by 
the winds of winter, and mingled unno- 
ticed with the dust of the field ; perhaps 
the few sacred ashes which I then gathered 
at Chateau Hougoumont are all that is now 
to be found upon earth of the thousands 
who fell upon this fatal field ! 

It was not without regret that we left 
this ever-memorable spot, surrounded as it 
was by horrors that shocked the mind, and 
vestiges that were revolting to the senses. 
Still we lingered around it, till at length, 
after gazing for the last time at its ruined 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 295 

archways and desolated courts, we struck 
into the wood, and lost sight for ever of 
the Chateau Hougoumont. The road to 
Nivelles, which strikes off to the right from 
the high road to Genappe at the village of 
Mont St. Jean, passes the Chateau on the 
other side. The right wing of the British 
army crossed this road, and in the deep 
ditches on each side of it we were told 
that human remains still lay uninterred. 
Some of the party returned to Mont 
St. Jean by this road, which is con- 
siderably nearer; but my brother, my 
sister, and myself, once more crossed the 
field in order to pay another visit to " La 
Belle Alliance." 

I could not be persuaded to go to see 
the skeleton of a calf which had been 
.burnt in one of the outhouses of Hougou- 
mont, and over which one of the ladies of 
our party uttered the most pathetic lamen- 
u 4 



c 29& A FEW DAYS 

tations. It seemed to fill her mind with 
more concern than any thing else. At ano- 
ther time I might have been sorry for the 
calf; but when I remembered how many 
poor wounded men had been burnt alive in 
these ruins, it was impossible to bestow a 
single thought upon its fate. Finding 
that her sensibility obtained no sympathy 

from me, the lady turned to S , and 

began to bewail the calf anew, till at last 
wearied out with her folly, " out of her 
grief and her impatience," S— — ex- 
claimed, " that she did not care if all the 
calves in the world were burnt/' 

As we passed again through the wood of 
Hougoumont, I gathered some seeds of the 
wild broom, with the intention of planting 

them at , and with the hope 

that I should one day see the broom of 
Hougoumont blooming on the banks of the 
Tweed. In leaving the wood I was struck 



RESIDENCE IjST BELGIUM. 297 

with the sight of the scarlet poppy flaunt- 
ing in full bloom upon some new-made 
graves, as if in mockery of the dead. 
In many parts of the field these flowers 
were growing in profusion : they had 
probably been protected from injury by 
the tall and thick corn amongst which 
they grew; and their slender roots had 
adhered to the clods of clay which had 
been carelessly thrown upon the graves. 
From one of these graves I gathered 
the little wild blue flower known by the 
sentimental name of " Forget me not !" 
which to a romantic imagination might 
have furnished a fruitful subject for poetic 
reverie or pensive reflection. 

While S was taking a view, and 

J was overlooking and guarding her, 

I entered the cottage of " La Belle 
Alliance," and began to talk to Baptiste 
la Coste, Buonaparte's guide, whom I 



29S A FEW DAYS 

found there. He is a sturdy, honest- 
looking countryman, and gave an inte- 
resting account of Buonaparte's beha- 
viour during the battle. He said that he 
issued his orders with great vehemence, 
and even impatience. He took snuff in- 
cessantly — but in a hurried manner, and 
apparently from habit, and without being 
conscious that he was doing so : he talked a 
great deal and very rapidly ; his manner of 
speaking was abrupt, quick, and hurried : 
he was extremely nervous and agitated at 
times, though his anticipations of victory 
were most confident. He frequently ex- 
pressed his astonishment, rather angrily, 
that the British held out so long — at the 
same time he could not repress his admi- 
ration of their gallantry, and often broke 
out into exclamations of amazement and 
approbation of their courage and conduct. 
He particularly admired the Scotch Greys 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 299 

— " Voila ces chevaux gris — ah ! ce sont 
beaux cavaliers — tres beaux/' — and then 
he said they would all be cut to pieces. 
He said, — " These English certainly fight 
well, but they must soon give way f and 
he asked Soult, who was near him, " if he 
did not think so ?" Soult replied, " He 
was afraid not/' " And why?" said 
Napoleon, turning round to him quickly. 
" Because," said Soult, " I believe they 
will first be cut to pieces." Soults opinion 
of the British army, which was founded on 
experience, coincided with that of the 
Duke of Wellington. " It will take a 
great many hours to cut them in pieces," 
said the Duke, in answer to something 
that was said to him during the action ; 
" and I know they will never give way." 

Buonaparte, however, who knew less of 
them, and whose head always ran upon 
the idea of the English flying to their 



300 A FEW DAYS 

ships, had never dreamt that with a force 
so inferior they would think of giving him 
battle ; but imagined that they would con- 
tinue their retreat during the night, and 
that he should have to pursue them. It is 
said that he expressed great satisfaction 
when the morning broke and he saw them 
still there ; and that he exclaimed — " Ah ! 
pour le coup — je les tiens done — rces An- 
glais r 

Before the engagement began he ha- 
rangued the army, promising them the 
plunder of Brussels and Ghent. Once, 
towards the close of the battle, he address- 
ed himself to the Imperial Guard, leading 
them on to the brink of the hill, and telling 
them, " that was the road to Brussels." 
Regardless of the waste of human life, 
he incessantly ordered his battalions to 
advance — to bear down upon the enemy 
— to carry every thing before them. He 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 301 

inflamed their ardour by the remembrance 
of past, as well as the prospect of present 
victory, and the promise of future reward : 
but he never led them on to battle himself 
— he never once braved the shock of 
British arms. It is not true that he was 
ever near Lord Uxbridge, or in any 
danger of being taken prisoner by the 
English. Indeed he exposed himself to 
very little personal risk ; a proof of which 
is, that not one of those who attended him 
the whole day was wounded. 

La Coste said, that at first, when he was 
told that the Prussians were advancing, he 
obstinately and angrily refused to believe it, 
declaring it was the French corps under 
Marshal Grouchy.* He then commanded 

* That Buonaparte either did believe those troops to 
be French, or that he pretended to believe it, (which is 
perhaps more probable,) is unquestionably true. Marshal 
Ney, in his account of the battle, states that he received a 



302 A FEW DAYS 

this news to be spread amongst the army, 
and ordered Marshal Ney, at the head of 
four chosen regiments of the Guards, to 
charge, and to penetrate the centre of the 
British.* He stood to witness the complete 
failure of this desperate effort to retrieve the 
fortune of the day ; but when he perceived 
his troops give way and retreat in confusion 
before the grand simultaneous charge of 
the British army, he turned pale, his per- 
turbation became extreme — and exclaim- 
ing, " All is lost — let us save ourselves," 
(Tout est perdu — sauvons nous,) or words to 
that effect, — he put spurs to his horse, and 



message from the Emperor, brought by General Labe- 
doyere, to inform him " that the French corps under 
Marshal Grouchy had arrived in the field, and attacked 
the left wing of the British and Prussians united. Gene- 
ral Labedoyere rode along the lines, spreading this intel- 
ligence through the whole army." Vide Marshal Neys 
Letter. 
* Vide Marshal Ney's Letter. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 303 

galloped from the field. La Coste 
expressly said, that he was among the 
first of the officers to set the example of 
flight.* His own old Imperial Guard 
still remained — disputed every foot of 
ground — fought desperately to the last, 
and at length, overpdwered by numbers, 
fell gloriously — as their leader should have 
fallen. 

But he ! — not even despair could prompt 
him to one noble thought, or rouse him to 
one deed of desperate valour. He fled, — 
as at Egypt, at Moscow, and at Leipsic 
he had fled, — while his faithful veterans 
were still fighting with enthusiastic gal- 

* This statement too is confirmed by Marshal Ney, 
who said, " that Buonaparte had entirely disappeared 
before the end of the battle." Let it be remembered 
that Ney's letter was written exactly a week after the 
battle, while Napoleon was still Emperor, and still in 
Paris, and which, if his statement was not true, a thousand 
witnesses could have contradicted it. 



304 A FEW DAYS 

lantry, and shedding the last drop of their 
blood in his cause ! 

Was this the conduct of a hero ? Was 
this the conduct of a general ? Was this 
the conduct of a great mind ? No ! — He had 
set his " life upon a cast and he should 
have stood the hazard of the die/' — 
And for what did he abandon his army, 
and basely fly in the hour of danger ? — 
that he might be humiliated, pursued 
and taken — that he might become a 
suppliant to that hated enemy, whose 
ruin he had pursued with implacable 
hostility, and be indebted to their faith 
and generosity for life and safety — that 
he might live to hear his name execrated, 
and linger out a few years of miserable 
existence in obscurity and degradation ! 

It has been said by his advocates and 
admirers, that he was not only a great 
man, but the greatest man who ever lived — 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 305 

and that his only fault was ambition. Yes ! 
— Napoleon Buonaparte had indeed ambi- 
tion — but it was for power, not for glory ; 
for unbounded empire and unlimited 
dominion, not for the welfare of his sub- 
jects and the prosperity of his country. — 
He used the talents, the opportunities, 
and the power, with which he was gifted, 
and such as perhaps no mortal ever before 
enjoyed, not to save, but to destroy, not 
to bless, but to desolate, the world. 

The conduct of the leaders of the con- 
tending armies was as opposite as the cause 
for which they fought. While Napoleon 
kept aloof from the action, Lord Welling- 
ton exposed himself to the hottest fire, threw 
himself into the thickest of the fight, and 
braved every danger of the battle. He issued 
every order, he directed every movement, 
he seemed to be every where present, he 
encouraged his troops, he rallied his regi- 

x 



o 



06 A FEW DAYS 



ments, he led them on against the tremen- 
dous forces of the enemy, charged at their 
head, and defeated their most formidable 
attacks. No private soldier in his army 
was exposed to half the personal danger 
that he encountered. All who surrounded 
him fell by his side, wounded and dying* 
All his personal staff, with scarcely an ex- 
ception, were either killed or wounded. 
In the battle's most terrible moment, and 
most hopeless crisis, when our gallant army, 
weakened by immense losses, and by more 
than seven hours of unequal combat, were 
scarcely able to stand against the over- 
whelming number of fresh troops which 
the enemy poured down against them, 
when the Belgians fled, when every British 
soldier was in action, when no reserve 
remained, and no prospect of succour 
from our allies appeared, Lord Welling- 
ton himself rallied the troops, charged at 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 30? 

their head, and once more drove back the 
enemy.* 

Nor was the conduct of the two gene- 
rals on this day more opposite than that of 
the armies which they commanded, and 
the motives by which they were actuated. 
The French fought to obtain plunder and 
aggrandisement — the British to fulfil their 
duty to their country. Well did their ge- 
nerals know this essential difference ! 
Buonaparte held out to his troops the 
spoils of Belgium and Holland. When he 
wished to animate them to the greatest 
exertions, he led them forward, and told 
them, " That was the road to Brussels \" 
Lord Wellington, in the most critical 
moment of the battle, held another lan- 

* It was past six o'clock when this circumstance hap- 
pened. The Prussians had not appeared. The regiments 
which he led to the charge were the 52d and the 95th. He 
also repeatedly rallied the Belgic regiments, and some- 
times vainly exerted himself to make them face the enemy. 

x 2 



3()8 A FEW DAYS 

guage. " We must not be beaten/' he said 
to his soldiers ; " what will they say of us 
in England !" After the battle their con- 
duct was equally different. The French had 
murdered numbers of their prisoners, and 
those whose lives they spared* they robbed, 
insulted, and treated with the utmost 
cruelty, shutting them up without food, 
without dressing their wounds* and sub- 
jecting them to every hardship and priva- 
tion. The British, on the contrary, though 
irritated by the knowledge of these barba- 
rities, protected the wounded French from 
the rage of the Prussians, who would have 
gladly revenged the cruelties with which 
they had been treated by them. Our 
wounded soldiers, who were able to move, 
employed themselves in assisting their 
suffering enemies, binding up their wounds, 
and giving them food and water — but thS 
brave are always merciful. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 309 

A countryman, who belonged either to 
JLa Belle Alliance, or to some of the neigh- 
bouring cottages, told me, that when he 
came here early on the morning after the 
battle, the house was surrounded with the 
wounded and dying of the French army, 
many of whom implored him, for God's 
sake, to put an end to their sufferings. 

But the agonizing scenes which had so 
recently taken place here, and the images 
of horror which every object in and around 
La Belle Alliance was irresistibly calcu- 
lated to suggest to the mind, were almost 
too dreadful for reflection. More pleasing 
was the remembrance, tha,t it was here 
Napoleon Buonaparte stood when he dis- 
patched a courier to Paris with the news 
that he had won the day; and that it 
was here the Duke of Wellington and 
Marshal Blucher accidentally met^ a few 
hours after, in the very moment of victory, 
x3 



310 A FEW DAYS 

when Buonaparte was flying before their 
triumphant armies, himself the bearer of the 
news of his own defeat. 

The interview between the Duke of Wel- 
lington and Marshal Blucher was short, 
but it will be for ever memorable in the 
annals of history. They did not enter the 
house, but remained together a few mi- 
nutes in earnest conversation. It is well 
known that Blucher and the Prussians con- 
tinued the pursuit during the night. The 
remains of the British army rested from 
their toils on the ground, surrounded by 
the bleeding and dying French, on the very 
spot which they had occupied the prece- 
ding night, — and Lord Wellington returned 
to Waterloo. 

" As he crossed again the fatal field, pn 
which the silence of death had now suc- 
ceeded tp the storm of battle, the moon, 
breaking from dark clouds, shed an uncer- 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 311 

tain light upon this wide scene of carnage, 
covered with mangled thousands of that 
gallant army whose heroic valour had won 
for him the brightest wreath of victory, and 
left to future times an imperishable monu- 
ment of their country's fame. He saw 
himself surrounded by the bloody corpses 
of his veteran soldiers, who had followed 
him through distant lands, of his friends, 
his associates in arms, his companions 
through many an eventful year of danger 
and of glory : in that awful pause, which 
follows the mortal conflict of man with 
man, emotions, unknown or stifled in the 
heat of battle, forced their way — the feel- 
ings of the man triumphed over those of 
the general, and in the very hour of victory 
Lord Wellington burst into tears/'* 

The state of the wounded during this 

* From Circumstantial Details relative to the battle of 
Waterloo, by a near Observer. 

x 4 



312 A FEW DAYS 

dreadful night may be conceived. Not 
even a drop of water was to be had on the 
field to relieve their thirst, and none was to 
be procured nearer than Waterloo. Late 
as it was, and exhausted as our officers 
must have been with the fatigue of such 
unremitting exertions, many of them 
mounted their horses, slung over their 
shoulders as many canteens as they could 
carry, galloped to Waterloo, a distance of 
more than two miles from almost every 
part of the field, filled them with water, 
and returned with it for the relief of the 
wounded men. 

I did not leave a corner of La Belle 
Alliance unrummaged, but I cannot say 
that I saw any thing particularly worthy 
of notice : I ate a bit of intolerably bad 
rye-cake, as sour as vinegar, and as black 
as the bread of Sparta, which nothing but 
the consideration of its having been in La 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 513 

Belle Alliance during the battle (which the 
woman assured me was the case) could 
have induced me to swallow : — but I need 
not stop to relate mj own follies. 

^ bought from the people of the house 
the feather of a French officer, and a 
cuirass which had belonged to a French 
cuirassier, who, they said, had died here 
the day after the battle. Loaded with my 
spoils, I traversed the whole extent of the 
field, thinking, as I toiled along beneath 
the burning sun, under the weight of the 
heavy cuirass, that the poor man to whom 
it had belonged, when he brought it into 
the field, in all the pride of martial ardour, 
and all the confidence of victory, little 
dreamed who would carry it off. If he had 
known that it was to be an English lady, 
he would have been more surprized than 
pleased. 

I did not stop till I got to the old tree 



314 A PEW DAYS 

now known by the name of Lord Welling- 
ton's tree,* near which he stood for a 
length of time during the battle; and 
beneath which I now sat myself down 
to rest. Its massy trunk and broken 
branches were pierced with a number of 
cannon-balls, but its foliage still afforded 
me a grateful shade from the rays of the 
sun. 

It was between this part of the field and 
Hougoumont, that the lamented Sir 
William Ponsonby gloriously fell in the 
prime of life and honour, after repeatedly 
leading the most gallant and successful 
charges against the enemy, in which he 
took upwards of 2000 prisoners and two 
French eagles. The particulars of his 
death are well known. In the heat of the 
action he was unfortunately separated from 

* It is on the left of the road in going towards 
Waterloo, behind the farm-house of La Haye Sainte. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 315 

his brigade, his horse stuck fast in the deep 
wet clay of some newly-ploughed land, 
and he saw a large body of Polish Lancers 
bearing down against him. In this dread- 
ful situation he awaited the inevitable fate 
that approached him with the composure 
of a hero : he calmly turned to his aide-de- 
camp, who was still by his side, and it is 
said that he was in the act of giving him a 
picture and a last message to his wife, 
when he was pierced at once with the 
pikes of seven of the Polish Lancers, and 
fell covered with wounds. England never 
lost a better soldier, nor society a brighter 
ornament. He was deservedly beloved by 
his friends and companions, adored by his 
family, and lamented and honoured by his 
country. 

'Numbers of country-people were em* 
ployed in what might be called the glean- 
ings of the harvest of spoil. The muskets, 



316 A FEW DAYS 

the swords, the helmets, the cuirasses, — all 
the large and unbroken arms, had been 
immediately carried off; and now the 
eagles that had emblazoned the caps of 
the French infantry, — the fragments of 
broken swords, &c. were rarely to be 
found ; though there was great abundance 
upon sale. But there was still plenty of 
rubbish to be picked up upon the field, 
for those who had a taste for it like me — 
though the greatest part of it was in a most 
horrible state. • 

It was astonishing with what dreadful 
haste the bodies of the dead had been 
pillaged. The work of plunder was carried 
on even during the battle ; and those har- 
dened and abandoned wretches who follow 
the camp, like vultures, to prey upon the 
corpses of the dead, had the temerity to 
press forward beneath a heavy fire to rifle 
the pockets of the officers who fell, of their 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 317 

watches and money* The most daring 
and atrocious of these marauders were 
womenw* 



# Some soldiers* wives were, however, actuated by 
better motives, and, like the matrons of Hensberg, in times 
of old, seemed to think their best treasures were their 
husbands. Many of them rushed forward and carried 
their wounded husbands off the field at the hazard of 
their own lives. The wife of a Serjeant in the 28th was 
severely wounded in two places by a shell, which struck 
her as she was carrying off her wounded husband. This 
anecdote was related to me by an eye-witness of the cir- 
cumstance. The woman (respecting whom I inquired 
since my return to England) has, I understand, been al- 
lowed a pension from Chelsea Hospital. I heard of se- 
veral similar instances of heroic conjugal affection ; and 
I myself saw one poor woman, the wife of a private in the 
27th, whose leg was dreadfully fractured by a musket-ball 
in rescuing her husband. When struck by the ball she fell 
to the ground with her husband, who was supposed to be 
mortally wounded, but she still refused to leave him, and 
they were removed together to the rear and afterwards 
sent to Antwerp. The poor man survived the amputa- 
tion of both his arms, and is still alive. The woman, 
who was then in a state of pregnancy, has, since her re- 
turn to this country, given birth to a child, to which the 
Duke of York stood godfather. 



318 A FEW DAYS 

The description I heard of the field the 
morning after the battle from those who 
had visited it, I cannot yet recal without 
horror. Horses were galloping about in 
every direction without their riders : some 
of them, bleeding with their wounds 
and frantic with pain, were tearing up 
the ground, and plunging over the 
bodies of the dead and the dying, — - 
and many of them were lying on the 
ground in the agonies of death. 

Over the whole field the bodies of the 
innumerable dead, already stripped of 
every covering, were lying in heaps upon 
each other ; the wounded in many instances 
beneath them. Some, faint and bleeding, 
were slowly attempting to make their way 
towards Brussels; others were crawling 
upon their hands and knees from this scene 
of misery ; and many, unable to move, lay 
on the ground in agony. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 319 

For four days and nights, some of these 
unfortunate men were exposed to the 
beams of the sun by day, and to the 
dews by night ; for notwithstanding 
the most praiseworthy and indefatigable 
exertions, the last of the wounded were 
not removed from the field until the 
Thursday after the battle ; and if we con- 
sider that there were at least 8000 
British, besides the Belgic, Brunswick, 
arid Prussian wounded soldiers, and an 
incalculable number of wounded French, — - 
we shall find cause for surprize and admi- 
ration, that they could be removed in so 
short a time. Their conveyance, too, was 
rendered extremely difficult, as well as 
inconceivably painful to the poor sufferers, 
by the dreadful and almost impassable 
state of the roads. % 

The Belgic peasantry shewed the most 
active and attentive humanity to these 



320 A FEW DAYS 

poor wounded men. They brought them 
the best food they could procure ; they 
gave them water to drink — they ministered 
to all their wants — complied with all their 
wishes, — and treated them as if they had 
been their own children. 

An officer, with whom I am acquainted, 
went over the field on the morning of 
the battle, and examined the ghastly heaps 
of dead in search of the body of a near 
relation ; and after all the corpses were 
buried or burnt — in the same melancholy 
and fruitless search, many an English- 
woman, whom this day of glory had bereft 
of husband or son, wandered over this 
fatal field, wildly calling upon the names 
of those who were now no more. The very 
day before we visited it, the widow and the 
sister of a brave and lamented British officer 
had been here, harrowing up the souls of 
the beholders with their wild lamentations, 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 321 

vainly demanding where the remains 
of him they loved reposed, and accusing 
heaven for denying them the consolation 
of weeping over his grave. I was myself, 
aftenvards, a sorrowful witness of the 
dreadful effects of the unrestrained in- 
dulgence of this passionate and heart- 
breaking grief. In the instance to which 
I allude, sorrow had nearly driven reason 
from her seat, and melancholy verged upon 
madness. 

I have forced myself to dwell upon these 
scenes of horror, with whatever pain to my 
own feelings, because in this favoured coun- 
try, which the mercy of heaven has hitherto 
preserved from being the theatre of war, 
and from experiencing the calamities which 
have visited other nations, I have some- 
times thought that the blessings of that ex- 
emption are but imperfectly felt, and that 
the sufferings and the dangers of those 



322 A FEW DAYS 

whose valour and whose blood have been 
its security and glory, are but faintly un- 
derstood and coldly commiserated. I 
wished that those who had suffered in the 
cause of their country should be repaid by 
her gratitude, and that she should learn 
more justly to estimate " the price of vic- 
tory/' But it is impossible for me to de- 
scribe, or for imagination to conceive, the 
horrors of Waterloo ! 

How gladly would I dwell upon the in- 
dividual merits of those who fell upon this 
glorious field, had I but the power to 
snatch from oblivion one of the many 
names which ought to be enrolled in the 
proud list of their country's heroes ! In the 
heat of such a battle, probably thousands 
have fallen, whose untold deeds surpass all 
that from childhood our hearts have wor- 
shipped. But that heroic valour and de- 
voted patriotism, which in other days were 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 323 

confined to individuals and signalised their 
conduct — at Waterloo pervaded every 
breast. Every private soldier acted like a 
hero, and thus individual merit was lost in 
the general excellence, as the beams of the 
stars are undistinguished in the universal 
blaze of day. 

But it is not only the unrivalled glory of 
my countrymen in arms, of which I am 
proud, it is the noble use which they have 
made of their triumph. It is not only their 
irresistible valour in battle, but their unex« 
ampled mercy and moderation in victory 
which exalts them above all other nations. 
It has been justly said by those whom they 
conquered, that no other army than the 
British could have won the battles of 
Quatre Bras and Waterloo : and no other 
army but the British, after such a battle 
and such a victory, after a long course of 
incessant warfare, after recent insults and 
y2 



324 A FEW DAYS 

wanton cruelties, and after ages of invete- 
rate hostility and national animosity, — no 
other army but the British, in such circum- 
stances, would have marched through the 
heart of that enemy's country, and entered 
that enemy's capital, as the British army 
marched through France and entered 
Paris. 

We have only to remember what has 
invariably been the conduct of the French 
armies in their march through the countries 
they have conquered. We have only to 
picture to ourselves what would have been 
their conduct, if they had triumphantly 
marched through England, and we shall 
then be able to appreciate the meritorious 
moderation of the British army — no plun- 
dered towns, no burning villages, no 
ruined houses marked their course, no 
outrage, no cruelty nor violence disgraced 
their triumphant progress. The French 



11ESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 325 

people received from their enemies that 
mercy which was denied them by their own 
soldiers. There is not a spot on the earth, 
from the burning sands of Egypt to the 
frozen deserts of Russia — from the Black 
Sea to the Pillars of Hercules — from the 
coasts of the Baltic to the shores of the 
Mediterranean, where the name of French- 
man and of Napoleon Buonaparte is not 
dreaded and detested. Wherever the 
power of Buonaparte has been known, or 
his dominion felt, his name is uttered 
with execrations. Wherever he has gone, 
his path, like that of the pestiferous serpent, 
has been traced by misery and desolation. 
But it is a proud reflection to every British 
heart, that there is not a country of the 
civilized world where England is not men- 
tioned with respect and gratitude, and the 
very name of Englishman coupled with 
blessings. 

y3 



3%6 A TEW BAYS 

I am too sensible of my own incom- 
petency, and too conscious of my want of 
knowledge, to attempt to give any account 
of the battle itself. The deeds of my 
countrymen I can only admire, — I am not 
qualified to record them. Abler pens 
than mine must do justice to the events 
of this day of glory, which I cannot 
recal to memory without tears : but 
it was impossible to stand on the field 
where thousands of my gallant countrymen 
had fought and conquered and bled and 
died, — and where their heroic valour had 
won for England her latest, proudest 
wreath of glory, — without mingled feelings 
of triumph, pity, enthusiasm, and admira- 
tion, which language is utterly unable to 
express. 

I stood alone upon the spot so lately 
bathed in human blood — where more than 
two hundred thousand human beings had 



RESIDENCE IJST BELGIUM. 327 

mingled together in mortal strife : I cast 
my eyes upon the ruined hovels immor- 
talized by the glorious achievements of 
my gallant countrymen. I recalled to 
mind their invincible constancy — their un- 
daunted intrepidity — their heroic self-devo- 
tion in the hour of trial — their magnanimity 
and mercy in the moment of victory : I 
cast my eyes upon the tremendous graves 
at my feet, filled with the mortal remains 
of heroes. — Silence and desolation now 
reigned on this wide field of carnage : the 
scattered relics of recent slaughter and 
devastation covered the sun-burnt ground ; 
the gales of heaven, as they passed me, 
were tainted with the effluvia of death. I 
shuddered at the thought that, beneath the 
clay on which I stood, the best and bravest 
of human hearts reposed in death. Oh ! 
surely in such a moment and on such a 
y 4 



328 A FEW DAYS 

spot, " some human tears might fall and 
be forgiven I" 

Alas ! those for whom I mourned sleep 
in death, — and in vain for them are the 
tears, the praise, or the gratitude of their 
country : but though their bodies may 
moulder in the tomb, and their ashes, 
mingled with the dust, be scattered unno- 
ticed by the winds of winter, their names 
and their deeds shall never perish, — they 
shall live for ever in the remembrance of 
their country, and the tears which pity — 
gratitude — admiration — wring from every 
British heart, shall hallow their bloody and 
honourable grave. On earth they shall 
receive the noblest meed of praise ; and 
oh ! may we not, without impiety or 
presumption, indulge the hope, that in 
heaven the crown of glory and immortality 
awaits those who fell in the field of honour, 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 329 

and who in the discharge of their last and 
noblest duty to their country, " resigned 
their spirit unto Him that gave it" ? 

It was with difficulty I could tear myself 
from the spot — but after casting one 
long and lingering look upon the wood- 
crowned hill of Hougoumont, the shattered 
walls of La Haye Sainte, the hamlet of 
La Belle Alliance, the woods of Frischer- 
mont, the broken hedge in front of which 
Sir Thomas Picton's division had been 
stationed, and which was doubly interesting 
to me from the remembrance that it was 

there Major had fought and 

fallen ; and after giving one last glance at 
the tree beneath which I stood, I joined 
my brother and sister, who had been taking 
sketches at a little distance, and set off 
with them to Mont St. Jean, — lightened of 
the load of my cuirass, which a little girl, 
who before the battle had been one of the 



330 A FEW DAYS 

inhabitants of La Haye Sainte, joyfully 
carried to the village for half a franc. 

On our return we entered the farm-house 
where Major had been con- 
veyed when wounded. The farm-house 
and offices inclose a court into which the 
windows of the house look. It is only one 
story high, and consists of three rooms, 
one through another. Not only these 
rooms, but the barns, out-houses, and 
byres were filled with wounded British 
officers, many of whom died here before 



morning. 



In that last tremendous attack which 
took place towards the close of the day, 
before the arrival of the Prussians, (but 
which, thanks to British valour, was wholly 
unsuccessful,) the battle extended even 
here. The French suddenly turned the 
fire of nearly the whole of their artillery 
against this part of our position, in front 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 331 

of Mont St. Jean, and a general charge 
of their infantry and cavalry advanced, 
under cover of this tremendous cannonade, 
to the atack. Weakened as our army had 
been in this quarter with the immense loss 
it had sustained, they expected it to give 
way instantly, and that they should be able 
to force their way to Brussels. The Belgians 
fled at this tremendous onset. The British 
stood firm and undaunted, contesting every 
inch of ground. Every little rise was 
taken and retaken. The French and 
English, intermingled with each other, 
fought man to man, and sword to sword, 
around these walls, and in this court, 
while cannon-shot thundered against the 
walls of the house, and shells broke in at 
the windows of the rooms crowded with 
wounded. Such of the officers as it was 
possible to remove were carried out beneath 



532 A PEW DAYS 

a shower of musketry. But our troops 
maintained their ground in spite of the 
immense numbers of the enemy, and of a 
most tremendous and incessant fire ; and 
after a long and desperate contest, the 
French were completely repulsed and 
driven back. They never for a moment 
gained possession even of this farm-house, 
much less of the village of Mont St. Jean, 
to which indeed the battle never extended. 
Some cannon-balls indeed lodged them- 
selves in the walls of the cottages, but the 
action took place entirely in front of the 
village, and its possession was never there- 
fore disputed. 

The farmer's wife had actually remained 
in this farm-house during the whole of this 
tremendous battle, quite alone, shut up 
in her own room, or rather garret. There 
she sat the whole day, listening to the roar 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 333 

of the cannon, in solitude and silence, 
unable to see any thing, or to hear any 
account of what was passing, It seemed 
to me that the utmost ingenuity of man 
could not have devised a more terrible 
punishment than this woman voluntarily 
inflicted upon herself. When I asked her 
what could been her motives for remaining 
in such a dreadful situation, she said that 
she staid to take care of her property, — 
that all she had in the world consisted 
in cows and calves, in poultry and pigs, — 
and she thought if she went away and 
left them, she should lose them all, — and 
perhaps have her house and furniture 
burnt. She seemed to applaud herself 
not a little for her foresight. If the 
French, however, had been victorious in- 
stead of the English, the woman, as well 
as her hens and chickens, would have been 
in rather an awkward predicament. 



334 A FEW DAYS 

Her husband first told me this story, 
which I could scarcely credit till she her- 
self confirmed it. But he, honest man ! 
had wisely run away before the battle had 
begun, leaving his wife, his pigs and 
poultry, to take care of themselves. She 
said she staid in her room all that night, 
and never came down till the following 
morning, when all the surviving wounded 
officers had been removed, but the bodies 
of those who had expired during the 
night still remained, and the floors of 
all the rooms were stained with blood. 
She seemed very callous to their fate, and 
to the sufferings of the wounded ; and very 
indifferent about every thing except her 
hens and chickens. She led me to a little 
miserable dark cow-house, where General 
Cooke (or Cock, as she called him) had 
remained a considerable time when wound- 
ed, and it seemed to be a sort of gratifica- 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 335 

tion to her, that a British general had been 
in her cow-house. 

Leaving this farm-house, we walked 
through the village of Mont St. Jean, and 
stopped at the little inn, where we found 
the rest of the party busily employed upon 
every kind of eatable the house afforded, 
which consisted of brown bread, and butter 
and cheese, — small beer, and still smaller 
wine. Although I had rejected with ab- 
horrence at Chateau Hougoumont a pro- 
posal of eating, which some one had 
ventured unadvisedly to make ; and though 
it did seem to me upon the field of battle 
that I should never think of eating again, 
— yet no sooner did I cast my eyes upon 
these viands than I pounced upon them, 
as a falcon does upon his prey, and de- 
voured them with nearly as much voracity. 
They seemed to me to be delicious ; and 



336 A FEW DAYS 

the brown bread and butter, especially, 
were incomparable. 

The woman of the house and her two 
daughters, who were industriously em- 
ployed in plain needle work, related to us 
with great naivete all the terrors they had 
suffered, and all the horrors they had seen. 
Like all the other inhabitants of the village, 
they had fled the day before the battle, — 
not into the woods, but to a place, the 
name of which I do not remember, but 
which they said was very far off, (" bien 
loin.") 

Several cannon-balls had lodged in the 
walls about this house, although it was at 
the extremity of the village, farthest from 
the field. Having finished our frugal 
repast, for which these kind and simple 
people asked a most trifling recompense, 
we left Mont St. Jean, passed through the 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 337 

village of Waterloo for the last time, and 
returned to Brussels with an impression on 
our minds, from our visit to the field of 
Waterloo, which no time can efface. 

It was on Wednesday, the 19th of July, 
that we learnt the astonishing news that 
Napoleon Buonaparte had surrendered 
himself to the British, and was actually a 
prisoner on board the Bellerophon. An 
aide-de-camp of the king of France, going 
express to the king of Holland at the 
Hague, was the bearer of this important 
intelligence. It was communicated to us 

by General , who came in with a 

countenance radiant with joy, whilst we 

were sitting by Major 's bed-side, 

and scarcely could my sister and I, in our 
transports, refrain from embracing the good 
old general. He had himself seen the 
aide-de-camp of Louis XVIII. ; yet this 
news was so unexpected, so wonderful, — 

z 



338 A FEW DAYS 

and above all so good, — that scarcely 
could it be credited. Could it indeed be 
possible that Napoleon — the dreaded Na- 
poleon — was really a prisoner to the Eng- 
lish ! All ranks of people were breathless 
with expectation, and with trembling eager- 
ness and anxious inquiries awaited further 
intelligence. In a few hours it was con- 
firmed beyond a possibility of doubt. — 
" Buonaparte est pris ! — il est pris ! — 
c'est vrai- — c'est bien vrai !" — cried M. 

, the Belgic gentleman in whose 

house Major was an inmate, — 

bursting into his room with a turbulence 
of joy, ill-suited to the suffering state of 
our poor wounded friend. 

The loud acclamations of the populace 
— the ejaculations of thanksgiving and tears 
of joy which burst from the women, — and 
the curses which were freely bestowed on 
him by the men, — proved the strength of 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 339 

their terror and the bitterness of their 
detestation. 

It was our fate to be the bearers of this 
intelligence almost the whole way through 
Belgium. So slowly does news travel in 
this country, that although it had arrived 
in Brussels at five o'clock in the afternoon, 
and we did not set off till eight the follow- 
ing morning, no rumours of it had been 
received in any of the towns or villages 
through which we passed; and we even 
found the good people of Ghent in pro- 
found ignorance of it. But the Belgians 
w r ere slow of belief, and the transport and 
the vociferous joy with which it was uni- 
formly received at first, were generally fol- 
lowed by doubts and fears, and fervent 
wishes for its truth. 

At the inn at Alost we found a party 
comfortably sitting down to dinner at 
twelve o'clock, at the well-spread Table 

z 2 



340 A FEW DAYS 

d'Hote. No sooner had I mentioned this 
news than knives and forks were thrown 
down, plates and dishes abandoned. An 
old, fat Belgic gentleman, overturning his 
soup plate, literally jumped for joy ; an- 
other, more nimble, began to caper up and 
down the room. A corpulent lady, in at- 
tempting to articulate her transport, was 
nearly choked, like little Hunchback, with 
a fish-bone ; and the demonstrations of joy 
shewn by the rest of the party were not 
less extravagant. One old man, however,, 
shook his head in sign of incredulity, and 
said with fervour, when I assured him 
that Buonaparte was really a prisoner 
to the English, " that he should have 
lived long enough if he ever lived to see 
that day/' Nothing amused me more, 
however, than the squall set up by an old 
country-woman, who shook my hand till 
she nearly wrung it off, and then, shocked 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 341 

at what she had done, burst forth into 
apologies to me, exclamations of joy, and 
abuse of Buonaparte, all in a breath. 

To my cost, however, the official ac- 
count of this important news did arrive at 
Ghent, just after I had gone to bed. It 
had been more than twenty-four hours on 
its way, travelling at the rate of about a 
mile an hour ; and much did I wish that it 
had been longer, for neither peace nor re- 
pose was now to be had. Bonfires were 
lighted, guns fired, squibs and crackers 
let off in the streets, rockets sent up to 
the clouds, and both heaven and earth 
disturbed by the uproar. Not satisfied 
with this, they took it into their heads to 
keep up a firing with muskets under my 
windows; and the inhabitants and the 
English soldiers, royally drunk and loyally 
noisy, vied with each other in singing or 
rather roaring out the most discordant 

z 3 



342 A FEW DAYS 

strains, and " God save the King" in Eng^ 
lish, and a variety of Belgic songs in low 
Dutch were sung all at once, with the most 
patriotic perseverance, in the streets. By 
the time these outrageously loyal people 
found their way to bed, it was nearly time 
for me to get up, which I did at five o'clock, 
in order to see a very fine cabinet of paint- 
ings. The old Flemish gentleman to whom 
they belonged, not satisfied with giving me 
permission to see them, had the politeness 
to rise at that unseasonable hour, in order 
that he might be ready to receive me, and 
to shew them to me himself. What English 
gentleman would have got out of his bed 
before six o'clock in order to shew his col- 
lection of paintings to a foreigner, a person 
of no distinction, of whom he knew nothing, 
who had no introduction to him, whom 
he had never seen before, and w ould most 
probably never see again ? 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 343 

Next day at nine o'clock we embarked 
from Ostend for England, in a large 
packet crowded with passengers. We set 
sail with a favouring gale ; but the winds 
and the waves maintained their usual ca- 
pricious and inconstant character, and after 
a succession of calms, contrary winds, and 
opposing tides, we found ourselves, late on 
the evening of the second day, at anchor 
within sight of the harbour of Margate, but 
without a hope of reaching it till the follow- 
ing morning. In order to escape spending 
another night on board, we embraced the 
expedient of committing ourselves to a little 
boat, in which it seemed invariably to be 
our fate to end all our voyages. 

AVe were rowed ashore and landed in 
the dark, at past eleven o'clock at night, 
upon the slippery and weed-covered rocks 
of Margate, exactly six weeks after we 
landed in the same manner, at the same 

z 4 



344 A FEW DAYS 

hour, and the same day of the week, on the 
deep and deserted sands of Ostend. In 
that six weeks what a change had taken 
place ! When I left England, Buonaparte 
was the terror of the world — Europe was 
arming against him, and his threatening 
hosts were ready to overwhelm it again 
with ruin. When I returned, these tremen- 
dous armies were defeated and scattered— 
the victorious troops of England were in the 
capital of France; and Buonaparte him- 
self, fallen from the highest imperial throne 
of the universe to the lowest abyss of for- 
tune, was a prisoner on board a British ship 
of war, and a suppliant to the mercy of my 
country ! 

Events so extraordinary and improbable, 
and changes so sudden and so wonderful, 
seemed to outrun the rapidity of imagina- 
tion itself, and to exceed the limits of 
possibility. The past seemed like a dream. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 345 

Scarcely, on retrospection, could we be- 
lieve it to be real, or be convinced that 
the scenes we had witnessed, since our 
departure from England, had not been the 
illusions of fancy, or the " baseless fabric 
of a vision/' They bore more resemblance 
to the shifting and imaginary scenes repre- 
sented on the stage, than to events which 
had actually happened on the great theatre 
of the world. It had indeed been a great 
and a bloody tragedy, and it had been our 
lot to witness it from the first to the last 
scene. It began at our entrance, it finished 
at our departure from Brussels. The news 
of Buonaparte having attacked the Prus- 
sians reached Brussels at the very moment 
of our arrival, — the news of his surrender 
to the British was received the night before 
we left it. 

In that six weeks the work of an age had 
been accomplished ; an usurper had been 



346 A FEW DAYS 

dethroned ; a monarch had been restored ; 
a kingdom had been lost and won; 
a war had begun and ended ; peace had 
revisited the world ; and justice — strict, 
impartial justice, had descended upon the 
head of the guilty. And all this was the 
work of England ! 

Yet it has been asked — and I have often 
heard the question slightingly repeated by 
my own countrymen, — " And what, after 
all, has England gained for years of war 
and bloodshed but glory V. And what, I 
ask in return, could she gain that is equi- 
valent to it? What is there on earth to 
be compared to it? 

" Is aught on earth so precious and so dear 

As Fame and Honour ? or is aught so bright 

And beautiful as Glory's beams appear, 

Whose goodly light than Phaebus' lamp doth shine 

more clear ?" 

T?aerie Queen. 

Glory is the highest, the most lasting 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 347 

good. Without it, extent of empire, 
political greatness, and national prosperity, 
are but a name ; without it, they can have 
no security, and can command no respect; 
without it all other possessions are worth- 
less and despicable, — unstable and tran- 
sitory. Fortune may change ; arts may 
perish ; commerce may decay ; and wealth 
and power and dominion and greatness 
may pass away, — but gloiy is immortal 
and indestructible, and will last when em- 
pires and dynasties are no more. 

What gives nations honour and renown 
in future times but the glory they have 
acquired? What exalted Greece and 
Rome to their proud pre-eminence among 
the nations, and transmitted the lustre of 
their name to the remotest times ? Why 
does the traveller still traverse distant coun- 
tries, to explore with hallowed respect their 
mouldering temples, and linger with silent 



348 A FEW DAYS 

awe amidst the ruins of the Parthenon, or 
on the site of the Capitol? Why does 
generation after generation contemplate 
with veneration the plains of Marathon, 
and the heights of Leuctra ? Why do they 
still retrace with enthusiasm the deeds 
of their departed heroes, and the long 
catalogue of their ancient glories ? — It 
is to these ancient glories that they 
owe their present interest and importance. 
The nations of the East were possessed of 
unbounded wealth, magnificence, and 
power — and were long the seats of com- 
merce, of the arts of life, and of learning, 
when the western world was immersed in 
ignorance and barbarism. — Yet their an- 
tiquities are unexplored, — their history 
neglected, — their very existence almost 
forgotten; — for they have left no proud 
remembrance, no ray of glory, to immor- 
talize their name. 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 349 

If it had been extent of empire, or 
superiority of wealth, that gave nations 
lasting greatness, — Persia would have en- 
joyed that veneration which is now paid 
to Athens. If it had been conferred by 
antiquity, or by being the birth-place of 
the arts and sciences, — Egypt would have 
stood upon that pedestal of fame which 
Rome now fills. 

Yes ! England has nobly fought, tri- 
umphantly conquered, — and well has she 
been rewarded ! She has gained that 
unalienable, imperishable prize, which 
neither time nor fortune, nor fate — nor 
any earthly power can ever wrest from her. 
She has Avon the immortal meed ! Gene- 
rations yet unborn shall pride themselves 
on being the descendants of those who 
fought and conquered in the righteous 
cause of Justice, Honour, and Indepen- 
dence, on the plains of Spain, and on 



350 A FEW DAYS 

the glorious field of Waterloo ; and feel 
the throb of generous enthusiasm and of 
virtuous patriotism, when they retrace the 
bright history of their country's achieve- 
ments. 

With these sentiments deeply impressed 
upon my mind ; with the proud conscious- 
ness, that highly as the fame of England 
had stood in all ages, she had now attained 
an unparalleled height of greatness and 
glor} r ; that the ancient triumphs of Cressy, 
Poictiers, and Agincourt, in one age, — of 
Ramillies, Malplaquet, and Blenheim, in 
another, — had been surpassed in those of 
Salamanca, Vittoria, and Waterloo, in our 
own ; that her name would descend to the 
latest times as unrivalled in arms, invin- 
cible by land and by sea, and pre-eminent, 
not only in valour, but in faith and honour, 
— in justice, mercy, and magnanimity, — 
and in public virtue. 1 returned to my 



RESIDENCE IN BELGIUM. 351 

country, after all the varying and eventful 

scenes through which it had been my lot 

to pass, — more proud than when I left it 

of the name of 

An Englishwoman. 



FINIS. 



LONDON : 

PRINTED BY C. KOWORTH, BELL-YARB, 
TEMPLE-BAR. 



OCT 



-i 



m 



